UNIVERSITY  OF  CA  RIVERSIDE.  LIBRARY 


3  1210  01850  1583 


Intgrnai 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

RIVERSIDE 


^  ^^  /f.r   ^^^^^=^2^ 


EDITED    BT 

WILLIAM  T.   HARRIS,   A.M.,   LL.  D. 


VolUjVE  LIV 


INTERNATIONAL  EDUCATION  SERIES. 

12m.o,  cloth,  uniform,  blading. 


THE  INTERNATIONAL  EDUCATION  SERIES  was  projected  for  the  pur- 
pose of  bringing  together  in  orderly  arrangement  the  best  writuigs,  new  and 
old,  upon  educational  subjects,  and  presenting  a  complete  course  of  reading  and 
training  for  teachers  generally.  It  is  edited  by  William  T.  Harris,  LL.  D., 
United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  who  has  contributed  for  the  different 
volumes  in  the  way  of  introduction,  analysis,  and  commentary. 

1.  The  Philosophy  of  Education.    By  Johann  K.  F.  Rosenkbanz,  Doc- 

tor of  Theology  and  Professor  of  Philosophy,  University  of  K5nigsl>erg. 
Translated  by  Anna  C.  Brackett.  Second  edition,  revised,  with  Com- 
mentary and  complete  Analysis.    $1.50. 

2.  A  History  of  Education.     By  F.  V.  N.  Painter,  A.M.,  Professor  of 

Modern  Languages  and  Literature,  Roanol^e  College,  Va.    $1.50. 
3    The  Kise  and  Early  Constitution  of  Universities.      With  a  Sub- 
vet  OF  Mediaeval  Education.    By   S.  S.  Laurie,  LL.  D.,  Professor  of 
the  Institutes  and  History  of  Education,  University  of  Edinburgh.    §1.50. 

4.  The  Ventilation  and  W^arniing  of  School  Buildings.    By  Gilbert 

B.  Morrison,  Teacher  of  Physics  and  Chemistry,  Kansas  City  High  School. 
$1.00. 

5.  Tlio  Education  of  Man.    By  Friedrich  Fboebel.     Translated  and  an- 

notated by  W.  N.  Hailmann,  A.M.,  Superintendent  of  Public  Schools, 
La  Porte,  Ind.    $1.50. 

6.  Elementary   Psycholog:y   and    Education.      By   Joseph    Baldwin, 

A.  M.,  LL.  D.,  author  of  "  The  Art  of  School  Management."    $1.50. 

7.  The  Senses  and  the  Will.     (Part  I    of  "The  Mind  of  the  Child.") 

By  W.  Pbeter,  Professor  of  Physiology  in  Jena.  Translated  by  H.  W. 
Brown,  Teacher  in  the  State  Normal  School  at  Worcester,  Mass.    $1.50. 

8.  Memory :  What  it  is  and  How   to  Improve   it.      By  David  BLat, 

F.  R.  G.  S.,  author  of  "  Education  and  Educators,"  etc.     $1.50. 

9.  The  Development  of  the  Intellect.    (Part  II  of  "  The  Mind  op  the 

Child.")  By  W.  Preyer,  Professor  of  Pliysiology  in  Jena.  Translated  by 
H.  W.  Brown.    $1.50. 

10.  How  to  Study  Geography.      A  Practical  Esposition  of  Methods  and 

Devices  in  Teaching  Geography  which  apply  the  Principles  and  Plans  of 
Ritter  and  Guyot.  By  Francis  W.  Parker,  Principal  of  the  Cook  County 
(Illinois)  Normal  School.     $1.50. 

11.  Education  in  the  United  States :  Its  History  from  the  Earliest 

Settlements.  By  Richard  G.  Boone,  A.M.,  Professor  of  Pedagogy, 
Indiana  University.    $1.50. 

12.  European  Schools  ;  cr.   What  I  Saw   in  the  Schools  of  Germant, 

France,  Austria,  and  Switzerland.  Bv  L.  R.  Klemm,  Ph.  D.,  Principal 
of  the  Cincinnati  Technical  School.    Full.v'illustrated.     $2.00. 

13.  Practical  Hints  for  the  Teachers  of  Public  Schools.    By  George 

HowLAND,  Superintendent  of  the  Chicago  Public  Schools.    $1.00. 

14.  Pestalozzi :  His  Eife  and  Work.    By  Roger  db  Guimps.     Authorized 

Translation  from  the  second  French  edition,  bv  J.  Russell,  B.  A.  With  an 
Introduction  by  Rev.  R.  H.  Quick,  M.  A.    $1.50. 

15.  School  Supervision.     By  J.  L.  Pickard,  LL.  D.    $1.00. 

16.  Higher  Education  of  Women  in  Europe.    By  Helene  Langb,  Berlin. 

Translated  and  accompanied  by  comparative  statistics  by  L.R.  Klemm.  $1.00. 

17.  Essays  on  Educational  Keformers.       By  Robert  Herbert  Quick, 

M.  a.,  Trinity  College,  Cambridge.  Only  authorized  edition  of  the  work  as 
rewritten  in  1890.    $1.50. 

18.  A  Text-Book  in  Psychology.  By  Johann  Friedrich  Herbaet.   Trans- 

lated by  Margaret  K.  Smith.    $1.00. 

19.  Psychology  Applied  to  the  Art  of  Teaching.     By  Joseph  Baldwin, 

A.  M.,LL.  D.     $1.50. 


THE  INTERNATIOXAL  EDUCATION  SERIES. —(Continued.-) 

20.  Kousseau's  Kmile ;   or,  Treatise  on  Education.    Translated  and  an- 

notated by  W.  U.  Payne,  Ph.  D.,  LL.  D.    $1.50. 

21.  Tbe  Moral  Instruction  of  Children.    By  Felix  Abler.    $1.50. 

22.  English  Education   in  the  Elementary  and  Secondary  Schools. 

By  Isaac  sharplEss,  LL.  D.,  President  oi'  Haverford  College.    $1.00. 

23.  Education  from  a  ^National  Standpoint.  By  Alfred  Focillee.  $1.50. 

24.  Mental   Development  of  the   Child.     By  W.  Peetek,  Professor  of 

Physiology  in  Jena.    Translated  by  II.  W.  Bkown.    $1.00. 

25.  How  to  Study  and  Teach  History.    By  B.  A.  Hinsdale,  Ph.  D.,  LL.  D., 

University  oJ  Michigan.    $1.50. 

26.  Symbolic  Education.    A  Commentary  on  Froebel's  "  Mother-Piiat." 

By  Susan  E.  Blow.     §1.50. 

27.  Systematic  Science  Teaching.    By  Edward  G a rdnier  Howe.    gl.50. 

28.  The  Education  of  the  Greek  People.    By  Thosias  Davidson.    §1.50. 

29.  The  Evolution  of  the  Massachusetts  Public-School  System.    By 

G.  H.  Martin,  A.  M.     S1..W. 

30.  Pedagogics  of  the  Kindergarten.    By  Feiedrich  Fkoebel.    S1.5C. 

31.  The  Mottoes  and  Commentaries  of  Friedrich  Froebel's  Mother- 

Play.    By  Susan  E.  Blow  and  Henrietta  K.  Eliot.    $1.50. 

32.  The  Songs   and    Music  of   Froebel's  Mother-Play.     By  Susan  E. 

Blow.    $1.50. 

33.  The    Psychology  of   Number.      By  James  A.  McLellan,  A.  M.,  and 

John  L)ewey',  Ph.  D.    $1.50. 

34.  Teaching  the   Language-Arts.    By  B.  A.  HrNSDALE.  LL.  D.    $1.00. 

35  The  Intellectual  and  Moral  Development  of  the  Child.    Part  I. 

By  Gabriel  CoiiPAYBfe.       Translated  by  Mary  E.  Wilson.    $1.50. 

36  Herbart's  A  B  C  of  Sense-Perception,  and  Introductory  Works. 

By  William  J.  Eckoef,  Pd.  D.,  Ph.  D.    $1.50. 

37  Psychologic  Foundations   of  Education.    By  William  T.  Harris, 

A.M.,  LL.D.     $1.50. 

38  The  School  System  of  Ontario.  By  the  Hon.  George  W.  Ross,  LL.  D., 

Minister  of  Education  for  the  Province  of  Ontario.    gl.OO. 

39  Principles  and  Practice  of  Teaching.  By  James  Johonnot.  $1.50. 
40.  School  Management  and  Methods.  By  Joseph  Baldwin.  $1.50. 
41     Froebel's    Educational    Eaws    for    all    Teachers.       By  James    L. 

Hughes,  Inspector  of  Schools,  Toronto.    81-50. 
42.  Bibliography  of  Education,     By  Will  S.  Monroe,  A.  B.     $2.00. 
43    The  Study  of  the  Child.     By  A.  R.  Taylor,  Ph.D.    $1.50. 
44.  Education  by  Development.    By  Friedrich  Froebel.    Translated  by 

Josephine  Jarvis.    $1.50. 

45  I^etters  to  a  Mother.    By  Susan  E.  Blow.    $1.50. 

46  Montaigne's  The  Education  of  Children.    Translated  by  L.  E.  Rec- 

tor, Ph.  D.     $1.00. 

47.  The   Secondary  School  System  of   Germany.     By  Frederick  E. 

Bolton.    $l..'i0. 

48.  Advanced  Elementary  Science.    By  Edward  G.  Howe.    $1.50. 

49  Dickens  as  an  Educator.     By  James  L.  Hughes.    $1..50. 

50  Principles    of   Education    Practically  Applied.      Revised   edition. 

By  James  M.  Greenwood.    $1.00. 

other  volumes  in  preparation. 


D.  APPLETON   AND   COMPANY,  NEW  YORK. 


INTERNATIONAL  EDUCATION  SERIES 


EDUCATIONAL  FOUNDATIONS 

OF 

TEADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


BY 

FABIAN  WAEE 

AUTHOR  OF  EDUCATIONAL  REFOHM— THE  TASK 
OF  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION,  ETC. 


"...  and  then  as  to  her  manner  ;  upon  my  word  I  think 
it  is  particularly  graceful,  considering  she  never  had  the 
least  education  :  for  you  know  her  mother  was  a  Welsh 
milliner  and  her  father  a  sugar-baker  at  Bristol." 

School  for  Scandal,  act  it,  sc.  S 


NEW    YORK 

D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 

1901 


I.  L  /CIQ  J- 


Copyright,  igoi, 
By   D.   APPLETON   AND   COMPANY, 


TO    MY    WIFE 


EDITOR'S   PREFACE. 


The  publishers  take  pleasure  in  offering-  to  the 
public  the  present  volume  of  the  International 
Education  Series.  It  is  written  by  an  English 
scholar  who  has  made  a  reputation  for  his  philo- 
sophic insight  into  the  aims  and  purposes  of  the 
chief  national  systems  of  education  at  present  in 
operation  upon  the  continent  of  Europe.  In  the 
light  of  his  broad  general  studies,  Mr.  Ware  dis- 
cusses the  situation  in  Great  Britain,  and  throws 
light  upon  home  questions  that  are  pressing  for 
a  solution.  To  those  readers  of  educational 
treatises  of  a  generation  ago  which  served  up 
only  an  inventory  of  national  differences  and 
peculiarities  without  tracing  these  to  a  com- 
mon principle  or  any  fundamental  process,  the 
writings  of  Mr.  Ware  are  in  the  nature  of  a 
revelation.  They  afford  enlightenment  to  the 
seeker  after  wisdom,  while  the  mere  inventory 
has  a  tendency  to  obscure  one's  vision  by  divid- 
ing and  subdividing  his  attention  upon  a  mul- 
titude of  details  without  unity,  and  thereby 
laming  his  will  or  his  power  to  act. 

The  philosophic  study  of  education  traces  the 
dead  results — the  facts  or  products  of  a  system 
of  education — into  the  processes  which  have  pro- 
duced it.    In  the  next  place  it  discovers  the  aims 

vii 


Editor's  Preface. 

and  purposes  which  have  impelled  and  guided 
the  processes  and  formed  their  methods.  Ar- 
rived at  an  insight  into  purposes  and  aims,  one  is 
able  to  compare  intelligently  the  system  of  one 
nation  with  that  of  another.  It  is  only  in  the 
light  of  the  national  aim  and  purpose  that  the 
methods  and  results  of  an  educational  system  can 
be  criticised.  The  philosophical  view,  of  course, 
examines  and  compares  national  purposes  and 
aims  in  view  of  the  status  of  the  people  of  a 
country  and  the  direction  of  progress  which 
their  civilization  is  taking.  In  the  present  book 
it  is  believed  by  the  publishers  that  Mr.  Ware 
has  presented  in  a  clear  and  convincing  style  a 
series  of  reflections  upon  his  theme,  namely, 
upon  the  "  Educational  Foundations  of  Trade 
and  Industry,"  which  will  prove  quite  as  en- 
lightening to  readers  in  America  as  in  England. 
To  see  the  systematic  and  efficient  efforts  of  the 
French,  and  especially  of  the  Germans,  as  viewed 
from  the  standpoint  of  an  intelligent  English- 
man, will  prove  helpful  to  us,  who  are  beginning 
to  make  earnest  efforts  to  re-enforce  our  indus- 
tries by  school  education. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  present  work  wnll  meet 
a  cordial  reception  from  the  directors  of  edu- 
cation, and  from  all  who  are  interested  in  meet- 
ing a  national  want  by  schools  for  trade  and 
industry. 

W.  T.  Harris. 

Washington,  D.  C,  December  7,  igoi. 
viii 


PREFACE. 


The  following  pages  have  been  written  with  the 
intention  of  placing  before  the  English  public  an 
accurate,  though  necessarily  far  from  complete, 
account  of  the  educational  foundations  of  foreign 
trade  and  industry.  As  need  for  educational  re- 
form is  generally  expressed  in  England  in  terms 
of  foreign  commercial  or  industrial  success,  I  may 
be  justified  in  thinking  that  many  persons  in  this 
country  will  be  interested  to  know,  or  to  complete 
their  knowledge  of,  what  our  foremost  rivals  are 
really  doing  in  their  schools.  This  book  originated 
in  a  suggestion  of  Professor  H.  L.  Withers,  of 
Owens  College,  Manchester,  that  I  should  write 
on  the  subject  of  foreign  trade  and  foreign  educa- 
tion. I  am  not  qualified  to  discuss  the  question 
from  an  industrial  or  commercial  point  of  view  ; 
I  have  therefore  confined  my  attempts  to  showing 
the  educational  intentions  of  Germany,  France, 
and  the  United  States  of  America,  and  the  way 
in  which  these  intentions  are  put  into  practice  in 

ix 


Preface. 

their  schools.  The  relation  between  their  educa- 
tion and  their  success  in  commerce  and  industry 
is  now-  generally  recognized  in  England  ;  but  it 
is  not  for  an  educationist  to  express  any  opinion 
on  this  matter.  The  following  plan  of  a  complete 
national  system  of  education  will  explain  most  of 
the  technical  terms  which  I  have  been  obliged  to 
use  in  the  following  pages.  The  dotted  lines  and 
arrows  show  the  principal  passages  from  one 
division  of  the  system  to  the  other.  The  two 
divisions  are  distinct  in  most  countries,  the  great 
.exception  being  America. 

Universities  ,^ .  Technical  High  Schools 

I ^i:::^- — I 

Secondary  Schools      _^  Lower  Technical  Schools 
I^     ^  I 


"""■"^- Higher  Primary  Schools  * 

'^^^ I 

Preparatory  Schools  Primary  (or  Elementary  Schools) 

The  only  direct  assistance  in  my  undertaking 
which  I  have  to  acknowledge  is  that  of  my  wife. 
To  her  judgment  and  practical  help  I  am  greatly 
indebted,  and  to  her  I  have  dedicated  my  book. 

I  must,  however,  take  this  opportunity  of  publicly 
admitting  how  much  I  owe  to  the  writings  of  Mr. 
Spenser  Wilkinson  and  Mr.  Michael  E.  Sadler. 
All  students  of  National  Education  are  under  a 
heavy  debt  to  these  two  gentlemen  ;  my  obliga- 
tion to  them  is  particularly  great,  as    I   have  had 

•  Called  in  England  "  Higher  Grade  Schools." 
X 


Preface. 

many  opportunities  during  recent  years  of  dis- 
cussing personally  with  them  matters  of  common 
interest. 

Among  the  chief  works  which  I  have  consulted, 
and  from  which  I  have  quoted,  I  may  mention, 
"  Special  Reports  on  Educational  Subjects  "  of  the 
English  Board  of  Education,  the  volumes  pub- 
lished in  connection  with  the  Paris  Exhibition  of 
1900  by  the  French  Ministry  of  Public  Instruction 
and  Ministry  of  Commerce,  the  Annual  Reports 
of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education, 
and  the  admirable  "  Monographs  on  Education  in 
the  United  States,"  published  in  connection  with 
the  American  Educational  Section  of  the  Paris 
Exhibition  of  1900. 

F    W. 

Hampstead, 

June  8//1,  1901. 


XI 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTKB  FAGB 

I.    The  Growth  of  National  Systems  of  Educa- 
tion         .        I 

II.    Voluntary  Efforts  in  England  to  lay  Educa- 
tional Foundations  .....       14 

III.  The   Attempts   of  the    English    Government 

TO  lay  Educational  Foundations  ...      29 

IV.  The  Foundations  laid  by  German  Government      57 

V.  The  Foundations  laid  in  France      .        .        .147 
VI.    The  Foundations  laid  in  America    .         .         .    226 

VII.    Conclusions 286 

Index  ••-.....-    295 


Xlll 


EDUCATIONAL  FOUNDATIONS  OF 
TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE   GROWTH   OF    NATIONAL   SYSTEMS   OF 
EDUCATION. 

Whatever  may  be  considered  the  most  remark- 
able achievement  of  the  nineteenth  century,  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that  the  national  education 
systems  which  it  has  founded  will  be  held  respon- 
sible by  future  generations  for  much  of  the  pro- 
sperity which  they  may  enjoy,  and  many  of  the  woes 
which  they  will  suffer.  It  is  true  that,  in  all  ages  of 
civilization,  much  attention  has  been  paid  to  the 
education  of  the  ruling  classes.  From  time  to  time 
charitable  persons  have  endeavoured  to  extend  the 
benefits  of  education  to  the  children  of  the  poor, 
and  in  England,  at  any  rate,  there  has  never  been 
wanting  a  recognition  of  the  right  of  the  talented 
child  to  enter  through  the  school  into  the  aris- 
tocracy of  intellect.     But  it  was  only  during  the 

I 


Universal  Need  of  Education. 

last  century  that  the  civilized  world  awoke  to  the 
full  realization  of  the  fact  that  no  man  is  qualified 
to  fill  the  position,  however  hunible  it  may  be, 
which  his  couatry  has  assigned  to  him  without 
having  been  educated  in  the  school ;  that  is  to  say, 
developed  mentally,  morally  and  physically,  through 
a  systematic  course  of  instruction,  to  such  a  pitch 
as  will  enable  him  to  contend  successfully  against 
the  difficulties  and  complexities  of  modern  life,  not 
only  those  difficulties  and  complexities  which  enter 
into  the  common  environment,  but  also  those  which 
he  must  encounter  in  his  own  special  sphere  of 
activity.  The  realization  of  this  fact  led  to  the 
creation  of  national  systems  of  education,  that  is  to 
say,  systems  which  provide  education  for  the  whole 
people  of  a  nation,  not  as  if  they  were  divided  into 
distinct  and  independent  classes,  but,  even  where 
social  barriers  are  most  firmly  established,  as 
united  in  a  common  purpose,  and  possessed  of 
common  modes  of  thought  and  action. 

It  is  no  mere  coincidence  that  the  realization  of 
this  fact  has  originated  with  the  commencement, 
and  has  kept  pace  with  the  growth,  of  that  great 
industrial  development  which  has  undermined  the 
foundations  of  the  old  social  and  economic  order, 
and  seems  destined  to  work  changes  even  in  the 
physical  aspect  of  our  world.  The  marvellous 
scientific  discoveries  of  the  last  century  and  of  the 
closing  years  of  its  predecessor,  which  produced  in 

2 


Results  of  Scientific  Progress. 

one  direction  the  Industrial  Revolution,  gave  us 
in  another  a  deeper  insight  into  the  activities  and 
possibilities  of  the  human  mind  ;  they  threw  such 
light  on  the  workings  of  the  human  intelligence, 
and  of  the  development  of  the  human  body,  that 
laws  were  discovered  for  the  training  of  both,  which 
if  they  were  not  altogether  unknown  to  our  an- 
cestors, had  only  been  advanced  hitherto  in  a  timid 
and  uncertain  manner.  New  views  were  thus 
acquired  as  to  the  value  and  the  power  of  educa- 
tion. For  centuries,  one  might  almost  say  since 
the  moment  when  Greek  civilization  reached  its 
zenith,  the  schools  of  Europe  had  devoted  them- 
selves almost  exclusively  to  the  training  of  scholars. 
Their  one  aim  had  become  the  pursuit  of  learning 
and  the  achievement  of  scholarly  culture  through 
contact  with  the  thoughts  and  writings  of  the  past. 
The  interdependence  of  mind  and  soul  and  body, 
pointing  to  the  concurrent  training  of  this  human 
trinity  into  a  sound  and  fully  developed  living 
organism,  capable  of  conquering  the  actual  sur- 
roundings in  the  midst  of  which  it  had  to  exist, 
had  been  lost  sight  of,  and  was  not  restored  to  the 
world  until  rediscovered  by  modern  science,  and 
expressed  in  new  formulas  with  added  truth. 

At  the  same  time  the  Industrial  Revolution 
brought  with  it  the  demand  for  increased  knowledge 
on  the  part  of  those  workers  whose  duty  it  was  to 
control  the  new  forces  applied  to  industry.    Neither 

3 


Destruction  of  Self-dependence. 

must  the  changes  which  it  introduced  into  the  condi- 
tions of  labour  be  ignored.  New  responsibilities 
were  thrust  upon  nations  with  regard  to  that 
large  class  of  workers,  for  whom  the  marvels  of 
machinery  meant  but  the  destruction  of  inde- 
pendent work  and  the  earning  of  a  living  by- 
mechanical  labour,  subversive  of  that  "self-de- 
pendent power "  which  Goldsmith  rightly  held  to 
be  the  true  source  of  a  nation's  strength,  and  the 
destruction  of  which  from  other  causes  he  deplored 
even  in  his  time.  Every  addition  to  labour-saving 
appliances  confirmed  the  truth  of  Adam  Smith's 
assertion  as  to  the  mental,  moral,  and  physical 
effects  of  the  progress  of  the  division  of  labour  on 
the  majority  of  the  population.  In  this  progress, 
he  said,  "  the  employment  of  the  far  greater  part  of 
those  who  live  by  labour,  that  is,  of  the  great  body 
of  the  people,  comes  to  be  confined  to  a  few  very 
simple  operations  ;  frequently  to  one  or  two.  .  .  . 
The  man  whose  whole  life  is  spent  in  performing  a 
few  simple  operations,  of  which  the  effects  too  are 
perhaps  always  the  same,  or  very  nearly  the  same, 
has  no  occasion  to  exert  his  understanding,  or  to 
exercise  his  invention,  in  finding  out  expedients 
for  removing  difficulties  which  never  occur.  He 
naturally  loses,  therefore,  the  habit  of  such  exertion, 
and  generally  becomes  as  stupid  and  ignorant  as  it 
is  possible  for  a  human  creature  to  become.  .  .  . 
His  dexterity  at  his  own  particular  trade  seems,  in 

4 


Effects  of  the  Industrial  Revolution — 

this  manner,  to  be  acquired  at  the  expense  of  his 
intellectual,  social,  and  martial  virtues.  But  in 
every  improved  and  civilized  society,  this  is  the 
state  into  which  the  labouring  poor,  that  is,  the 
great  body  of  the  people,  must  necessarily  fall,  un- 
less Government  takes  some  pains  to  prevent  it." 
And  so  deeply  did  the  great  economist  feel  the 
dangers  to  which  the  nation  was  thus  exposed  that, 
in  spite  of  his  objection  to  public  institutions  for 
education,  he  was  convinced  that  Government  alone 
could  prevent  these  dangers  by  providing  elemen- 
tary instruction  for  the  inferior  ranks  of  the  people. 
The  poet  Wordsworth  expressed  the  same  view 
some  thirty-five  years  later  in  his  "earnest  wish 
expressed  for  a  system  of  national  education 
established  universally  by  Government,"  in  which 
he  pleads  that  none  be  forced 

"  To  drudge  through  weary  life  without  the  aid 
Of  intellectual  implements  and  tools." 

Such  were  some  of  the  views  expressed  by  men  in 
our  own  land  as  to  those  tendencies  which  had  to 
be  counteracted  by  education,  but  which  were  con- 
firmed by  the  new  industrial  development. 

We  may  say,  therefore,  that  the  growth  of 
national  systems  of  education  during  the  nine- 
teenth century  was  due  to  two  main  causes.  As 
we  shall  see  later,  these  causes  were  not  productive 
of  as  great  effect  in  England  as    elsewhere ;   but 

5 


And  the  New  Conditions  of  Labour. 

they  were  clearly  perceived  by  those  of  our  leading 
thinkers  whose  attention  was  not  absorbed  by 
problems  which  appeared  at  the  time  to  be  of  a 
more  pressing  nature.  Briefly,  these  two  causes 
may  be  stated  as  follows.  On  the  one  hand,  the 
new  conditions  of  labour  threatened  the  destruc- 
tion of  that  "  self-dependent  power  "  which  may  be 
regarded  as  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  a  nation's 
strength  ;  secondly,  the  application  of  the  new 
discoveries  of  science  to  industry  necessitated 
greater  intelligence  and  wider  knowledge  than  had 
hitherto  sufficed  for  those  at  the  head  of  industrial 
undertakings.  The  first  of  these,  it  may  at  once  be 
noted,  points  to  the  general  education  of  all  classes 
of  the  people  ;  the  second  to  the  special  educa- 
tion of  those  who,  by  fortune  or  by  merit,  rise  to  a 
position  of  greater  responsibility  than  their  fellows. 
It  may  appear  a  somewhat  remarkable  fact  that 
England,  the  birth-place  of  modern  industry,  is 
the  last  of  the  great  nations  to  build  up  its  educa- 
tional system.  The  close  of  the  eighteenth  century 
saw  public  provision  made  for  schools  in  Wiirtem- 
berg,  Saxony,  and  Prussia.  The  opening  of  the 
nineteenth  witnessed  the  creation  of  a  complete 
system  of  education  of  all  grades  in  France,  under 
the  direction  of  Napoleon.  It  was  not  until  1870 
that  our  parliament  established  elementary  schools, 
insuring  the  primary  education  of  all  children  in 
the  land  ;  and  we  are  still  to-day  behind  all  other 

6 


Causes  of  England's  Backwardness. 

great  nations  in  making  public  provision  for  the 
higher  branches  of  education. 

We  often  hear  it  said  that  this  is  due  to  the 
natural  conservatism  of  the  English  character.  If 
another  country  introduces  changes  which  we 
hesitate  to  adopt,  clinging  apparently  to  the  older 
order  of  things,  there  is  certainly  some  justification 
for  the  statement  that  we  are  more  conservative 
than  the  people  of  that  country.  But  it  is  very 
necessary,  in  making  such  an  assertion,  to  guard 
carefully  against  any  confusion  of  cause  and  effect. 
Before  the  fact  can  be  established  beyond  all  doubt 
that  the  natural  character  of  the  English  people  is 
more  conservative  than  that  of  another  people, 
not  only  must  the  actual  achievements  of  both 
peoples  in  every  branch  of  activity  be  compared 
with  minute  accuracy,  but  due  allowance  must  be 
made  for  the  external  influences  which  may  have 
modified  the  natural  action  of  their  characters. 
Without  plunging  into  the  depths  of  such  a  very 
complicated  question,  we  can,  nevertheless,  find  a 
more  immediate  cause  than  the  conservatism  of  the 
English  character,  for  our  failure  to  establish  a 
national  system  of  education  as  early  as  Germany 
and  France. 

By  a  national  system  is  meant  one  which,  among 
other  things,  meets  all  the  varied  needs  of  the 
nation,  and  is  representative  of  a  common  national 
purpose.     This    common    purpose    can    only    be 

7 


Causes  of  England's  Backwardness — 

insured  if  the  system  is  controlled — to  what 
extent  need  not  now  be  discussed — by  the  State. 
Before  arriving  at  a  definite  conclusion  as  to  the 
cause  of  our  failure  to  establish  such  a  system 
during  the  nineteenth  century,  we  must,  there- 
fore, consider  the  nature  of  our  government  during 
this  period. 

In  England  the  greater  part  of  the  last  century 
has  been  occupied  in  remodelling  our  government 
on  a  democratic  basis.  In  1770,  Burke  voiced  the 
determination  of  the  English  people  to  oppose 
any  attempt  to  establish  a  government  possessing 
despotic  elements  when  he  deplored  the  tendency 
shown  by  the  House  of  Commons  to  exercise 
control  tipon  the  people,  whereas  "  it  was  designed 
as  a  coxi\xo\  for  the  people."  These  words  may  be 
regarded  as  marking  the  close  of  the  defensive 
attitude  of  the  democratic  forces  ;  they  were  hence- 
forth to  assume  an  entirely  offensive  role,  and  for 
nearly  three-quarters  of  the  nineteenth  century  we 
were  consciously  occupied  in  the  pursuits  of  that 
form  of  constitutional  government,  which  would 
be  thoroughly  representative  of  all  classes  of 
the  people,  and  would  at  the  same  time  allow 
the  greatest  freedom  possible  to  the  individual. 
During  this  period  our  government  was,  therefore, 
in  a  stage  of  transition  ;  and  at  every  moment  the 
existing  form,  backed  by  the  forces  of  conservatism, 
was  fighting  for  its  preservation  rather  than,  witn  an 

8 


compared  with  Germany — • 

assurance  of  its  permanency,  attending  to  its  legisla- 
tive and  executive  duties.  But  unless  govern- 
ment possess  confidence  in  its  own  permanency, 
providing  as  it  does  a  sense  of  stability,  national 
action  becomes  impossible. 

Even  where  democratic  forces  are  at  work,  dis- 
integrating the  older  forms  of  government,  national 
unity,  productive  of  national  action,  is,  however, 
possible  when  internal  differences  are  outweighed 
by  common  needs  in  face  of  external  opposition. 
At  the  beginning  of  last  century  we  were  full  of 
that  national  pride  which,  in  the  "  Old  World," 
according  to  Lowell,  "  feeds  itself  with  the  record 
of  battles  and  conquest "  ;  and,  had  this  pride  in 
our  national  achievements  been  coupled  with  the 
ever-present  consciousness  of  the  need  of  unity  for 
defence  against  external  interference,  national 
action  might  have  become  possible  without  entirely 
checking  the  progress  of  constitutional  reform. 
But  when  once  the  Napoleonic  wars  were  termi- 
nated, the  external  opposition  to  Great  Britain 
seemed  to  us  to  be  reduced  to  a  negligible 
quantity,  and  consequently  national  unity  was  not 
an  imperative  need.  This  explains  our  delay  in 
establishing  a  national  system  of  education. 

Germany,  however,  spent  the  same  period  in 
uniting  in  the  face  of  external  opposition  into 
one  nation.  Prussia,  crushed  under  the  iron  heel 
of    Napoleon,    rose    again  with    a   vigour    and    a 

9 


And  with  France. 

determination  which,  by  their  strength,  ultimately 
drew  the  other  States  into  a  united  Empire,  over 
which  she  presided.  One  of  the  first  results  of  her 
revival  was  the  establishment  of  a  national  system 
of  education  to  which  the  systems  of  the  other 
States  have  now  closely  assimilated  themselves. 
Germany  has  never  allowed  democratic  aspira- 
tions to  interfere  with  that  national  unity  which 
external  opposition  rendered  essential. 

France,  on  the  other  hand,  has,  during  this 
period,  suffered  many  vicissitudes.  At  least  five 
times  she  has  radically  changed  her  form  of 
government.  But  for  the  very  reason  that  these 
changes  were  revolutionary  and  unforeseen,  each 
successive  form  of  government  possessed  stability 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  people  believed  in  its 
permanency.  There  was  not,  at  any  rate  in 
France,  that  certainty  of  change  which  was  always 
with  us  in  our  conscious  evolution  towards  demo- 
cracy. And  not  only  so  ;  whatever  may  have  been 
the  disintegrating  forces  at  work  under  the  different 
forms  of  government,  national  unity,  productive  of 
national  action,  was  ever  necessary — though  at 
moments  this  necessity  may  have  been  lost  sight 
of  to  the  disadvantage  of  France.  Consequently 
the  national  system  of  education  founded  by 
Napoleon  was  continued  and  developed.  It  is  true 
that  it  was  modified  from  time  to  time  in  favour 
of  that  class  of  the  people  on  which  the  existing 

lO 


Democracy  established  in  England. 

form  of  government   depended  for  support  j    but 
events  invariably  restored  the  national  aim. 

Viewed  in  the  h'ght  of  these  facts,  it  is  a  bold 
assertion  to  say  that  it  is  owing  to  a  greater  con- 
servatism of  character  that  we  have  failed  to  found 
a  national  system  of  education  at  as  early  a  date 
as  Germany  and  France.  And,  whatever  may  be 
the  characteristic  want  of  foresight  of  which  we 
are  accused  by  some  of  our  best  friends,  it  is  to 
our  credit  that  we  perceived  that,  in  the  circum- 
stances in  which  we  were  placed,  the  constitutional 
struggle  had  to  be  decided  before  our  government 
would  be  justified  in  taking  any  measures  of  a  per- 
manent and  far-reaching  effect.  It  was  not  until 
the  Act  of  1867  had  settled,  once  and  for  all,  that 
our  government  should  assume  the  democratic  type 
that  sufficient  stability  in  the  form  of  government 
was  acquired  to  allow  a  system  of  education  to  be 
imposed  on  the  people.  And  even  then  it  was  not 
a  national  system  ;  for  the  Act  of  1870  dealt  with 
elementary  education  alone.  In  a  sense  this  Act 
was  a  democratic  measure  ;  and  in  this  connection 
it  is  interesting  to  notice  that  the  Government  did 
not  venture  to  compel  the  people  to  send  their 
children  to  the  elementary  school,  preferring  to 
leave  the  question  of  compulsion  to  the  Local 
Authorities — the  School  Boards — to  decide.  There 
was  thus  initiated,  under  the  new  form  of  govern- 
ment, that  policy  of  allowing  the  English  people 

II 


Democracy  and  Education  in  America. 

even  greater  freedom  of  educational  control  than 
was  insured  by  a  thoroughly  representative  form 
of  central  or  national  government. 

At  this  point,  while  considering  democratic  as 
opposed  to  national  tendencies  in  the  organization 
of  education,  our  thoughts  naturally  turn  to  the 
United  States  of  America.  Daniel  Webster,  in 
his  Plymouth  oration  of  1822,  remarked  :  "  On  the 
diffusion  of  education  among  the  people  rests  the 
preservation  and  perpetuation  of  our  free  institu- 
tions. I  apprehend  no  danger  to  our  country  from 
a  foreign  foe.  .  .  .  Our  destruction,  should  it  come 
at  all,  will  be  from  another  quarter.  From  the 
inattention  of  the  people  to  the  concerns  of  the 
Government,  from  their  carelessness  and  negligence, 
I  confess  I  do  apprehend  some  danger.  I  fear 
that  they  may  place  too  implicit  confidence  in 
their  public  servants,  and  fail  properly  to  scrutinize 
their  conduct ;  that  in  this  way  they  may  be  the 
dupes  of  designing  men  and  become  the  instru- 
ments of  their  undoing.  .  .  .  Make  them  intelligent 
and  they  will  be  vigilant ;  give  them  the  means 
of  detecting  the  wrong  and  they  will  apply  the 
remedy."  This  perception  of  the  need  of  educa- 
tion to  ensure  the  success  of  democracy  when  once 
firmly  established  is  not  strange.  In  commenting 
on  these  words  of  Daniel  Webster,  one  of  the  lead- 
ing educators  of  America  recently  observed  :  "  We 
are  making  the  experiment  of  self-government — • 

12 


Democracy  and  Education  in  America. 

a  government  of  the  people  by  the  people — and 
it  has  seemed  a  logical  conclusion  to  all  nations 
of  all  times  that  the  rulers  of  the  people  should 
have  the  best  education  attainable.  Then,  of 
course,  it  follows  that  the  entire  people  of  a 
democracy  should  be  educated,  for  they  are  the 
rulers."  With  this  it  is  interesting  to  compare  the 
opinion  expressed  by  Robert  Lowe.  After  the 
passing  of  the  Reform  Act  of  1867,  by  which  the 
working-men  living  in  small  houses  and  forming  a 
majority  of  the  population  were  enfranchised,  he 
exclaimed,  "  We  must  now  at  least  educate  our 
new  masters," 

The  original  absence,  in  the  education  of  the 
United  States,  of  a  national  aim — of  the  kind 
which  is  forced  upon  a  people  by  external  opposi- 
tion— is  clearly  shown  by  Daniel  Webster's  proud 
boast :  "  I  apprehend  no  danger  to  our  country 
from  a  foreign  foe."  Well  might  Englishmen  have 
uttered  the  same  boast  after  the  battle  of  Waterloo  ; 
but  fifty  years  of  internal  struggles  were  necessary 
before  we  arrived  at  Webster's  views  as  to  the  need 
of  education  for  the  people.  How  far  democracy 
has  proved  itself  capable  in  America  of  building  up 
a  national  system  of  education  will  be  shown  in  a 
subsequent  chapter.  It  will  then  be  seen  that  in 
possessing  such  a  system  the  United  States  also 
have  stolen  a  march  upon  us. 


13 


CHAPTER  II. 

VOLUNTARY   EFFORTS   IN   ENGLAND   TO   LAY 
EDUCATIONAL   FOUNDATIONS. 

Of  the  three  countries  which  we  have  considered, 
it  is  seen  that  England  has  been  the  last  to  recog- 
nize the  responsibility  of  the  nation  in  face  of  the 
new  conditions  of  labour,  threatening  the  destruc- 
tion of"  self-dependent  power" — the  responsibility, 
that  is  to  say,  of  counteracting  by  education  the 
deadening  influences  of  mechanical  labour  for  those 
whose  fate  it  is  to  earn  their  living  among  the 
lowest  ranks  of  the  workers.  And  when  England 
did  at  last  recognize  this  responsibility  it  was  on 
account  of  the  establishment  of  democracy,  demand- 
ing, as  this  form  of  government  must  demand,  a 
certain  minimum  of  enlightenment  on  the  part  of 
all  those  who  have  a  share  in  the  government. 
There  were  many  men  in  England  who,  even  then, 
would  rather  have  adopted  Adam  Smith's  view, 
and  admitted  the  claims  of  education  on  the 
grounds  that  "  in  free  countries,  where  the  safety 

14 


Want  of  National  Aim  in  England. 

of  government  depends  very  much  on  the  favour- 
able judgment  which  the  people  may  form  of  its 
conduct,"  it  is  an  advantage  to  the  State  that  the 
people  be  instructed,  for  then  "  they  are  more  dis- 
posed to  examine,  and  more  capable  of  seeing 
through,  the  interested  complaints  of  faction  and 
sedition."  Generally  speaking,  however,  it  may  be 
said  that  we  were  ultimately  guided  by  the  same 
democratic  motives  as  the  Americans,  and,  to  a 
certain  extent,  the  French  ;  but  we  were  in  no  way 
convinced,  as  the  French  and  Germans  were,  and 
still  are,  of  the  dependence  of  national  prosperity 
on  national  education.  We  were  not  urged,  and 
have  not  yet  been  compelled,  to  found  a  national 
system  of  education  by  the  second  of  the  two  causes 
named  above :  the  need,  in  international  com- 
petition, of  greater  intelligence  and  wider  know- 
ledge on  the  part  of  those  of  our  people  who  have 
to  control  the  new  forces  introduced  into  industry 
by  the  discoveries  of  science. 

But  the  absence  of  a  national  system  does  not 
imply  the  total  want  in  the  country  of  means  of 
meeting  national  needs  ;  though  it  does  neces- 
sarily represent  an  incomplete  and  disorganized 
provision  for  such  needs.  For  instance,  great 
voluntary  efforts  had  been  made  in  England  to 
bring  elementary  education  within  the  reach  of 
all  classes  of  the  people  before  the  interference  of 
the  State  in  1870.     In  the  same  way,  though  on  a 

15 


Dr.  Birkbeck's  Efforts — • 

much  smaller  scale,  something  had  been  done  by 
voluntary  effort  to  increase  the  intelligence  and 
knowledge  of  those  who  had  to  control  the  new 
forces  which  science  had  brought  to  bear  upon 
industry. 

The  pioneer  in  this  movement  was  Dr.  George 
Birkbeck,  The  son  of  Quaker  parents,  he  was  born 
in  Yorkshire,  in  1776.  When  a  student  at  Edinburgh 
University  he  formed  a  friendship  with  several  men 
destined  to  become  eminent,  among  whom  may  be 
noticed  particularly  Henry  Brougham.  While  en- 
gaged as  professor  of  Natural  and  Experimental 
Philosophy  at  the  Andersonian  Institution  in  Glas- 
gow, Birkbeck  was  obliged  to  employ  ordinary 
workmen  to  make  his  scientific  apparatus,  for  there 
was  no  specialist  in  this  branch  of  work  in  the  town. 
On  one  occasion  he  employed  a  tinman  to  construct 
a  model  of  a  centrifugal  pump.  It  was  in  the  cellar 
which  was  the  tinman's  workshop  that,  surrounded 
by  the  workmen  who  were  making  the  pump,  he 
was  struck  with  their  ignorance  as  to  its  uses,  and  at 
the  same  time  with  their  desire  to  obtain  enlighten- 
ment. It  was  here  that  he  first  conceived  the 
idea  of  giving  a  course  of  gratuitous  lectures  for 
the  scientific  instruction  of  the  working  classes. 
In  the  programme  for  this  course  which  he  drew  up 
shortly  after,  he  announced  his  intention  of  estab- 
lishing classes  "  solely  for  persons  engaged  in  the 
practical  exercise  of  the  mechanical  arts,  men  whose 

16 


Philanthropic  in  Intention — 

education  early  in  life  had  precluded  even  the 
possibility  of  acquiring  the  smallest  portion  of 
scientific  knowledge."  And  he  added  that  "greater 
satisfaction  in  the  execution  of  machinery  must  be 
experienced  when  the  uses  to  which  it  may  be  ap- 
plied, and  the  principles  upon  which  it  operates,  are 
well  understood,  than  when  the  manual  part  alone 
is  known,  the  artist  remaining  entirely  ignorant  of 
everything  besides." 

As  may  be  judged  from  the  words  just  quoted. 
Dr.  Birkbeck's  object  was  excellent ;  but  he  failed, 
as  many  a  philanthropist  fails,  owing  to  a  very 
natural  impatience  to  achieve  his  end.  It  is  this 
impatience  that  so  often  causes  the  philan- 
thropist to  attempt  to  circumvent  the  laws  of 
progress  which  are  inflexible  in  their  insistence 
on  a  slow  and  gradual  process  of  evolution — 
laws  which  can  least  of  all  be  violated  in  educa- 
tion. 

We  have  seen  earlier  in  the  preceding  pages 
that  the  industrial  revolution  made  it  necessary 
that  education  should  provide  increased  knowledge 
among  those  workers  who  had  to  control  the  new 
forces  which  scientific  discoveries  had  introduced 
into  the  processes  of  manufacture  ;  and,  above  all, 
that  education  should  counteract  the  evils  arising 
from  the  destruction  of  self-dependent  power 
among  those  workmen  for  whom  these  improve- 
ments   meant    but    the    earning   of    a    living    by 

17 


But  doomed  to  Failure — 

mechanical  labour,  offering  no  stimulus  to  healthy 
physical  or  mental  development.  And  it  was 
stated  that  these  two  needs  pointed  respectively 
to  the  general  education  of  all  classes  of  workers, 
and  to  the  special  education  of  those  who,  by 
fortune  or  merit,  rise  to  a  position  of  greater 
responsibility  than  their  fellows.  As  the  dis- 
tinction here  drawn  has  continually  been  ignored  in 
England,  and  as  it  really  affects  the  very  basis  of  a 
national  system  of  education,  it  demands  particular 
attention. 

Dr.  Birkbeck  appears  to  have  attached  chief 
importance  to  the  need  of  workmen  to  understand 
the  uses  to  which  machinery  may  be  applied,  and 
the  principles  upon  which  it  operates.  To  teach 
them  this,  he  offered  a  course  of  lectures,  in  which 
he  promised  that  he  would  study  "simplicity  of 
expression  and  familiarity  of  illustration."  In  other 
words,  he  attempted  to  teach  science  in  such  a  way 
that  its  principles  could  be  grasped  by  persons 
who  had  had  no  preparatory  education — who  were, 
in  fact,  entirely  ignorant.  In  criticizing  the  some- 
what narrow  aim  which  he  placed  before  himself, 
due  account  must  be  made  for  the  spirit  of  the 
times  in  which  he  lived.  The  great  efforts  of  Bell 
and  Lancaster — of  the  National  Society  for  the 
Education  of  the  Poor  in  the  Principles  of  the 
Established  Church,  and  the  British  and  Foreign 
School    Society,  which   sprang   respectively  from 

l8 


for  want  of  a  Proper  Foundation. 

the  work  of  these  two  pioneers,  had  not  had  time 
to  produce  important  results  when  Birkbeck 
started  his  classes.  Moreover,  the  nation  had  at 
that  time  no  general  appreciation  of  its  moral 
obligation  as  to  the  education  of  the  people ; 
and  the  government  being  in  the  hands  of  the 
upper  classes,  there  were  no  such  motives  to  pro- 
vide schools  for  the  lower  classes  as  those  which 
produced  the  Act  of  1870,  when  they  had  become 
the  "  masters."  So  that  whatever  may  be  said  of 
Birkbeck 's  aim,  it  had,  at  least,  the  merit  of  placing 
before  the  country  a  very  practical  object  to  be 
attained  by  the  instruction  of  the  working-classes. 
But  as  we  look  back  on  his  work  after  the  event, 
and  with  our  greater  educational  knowledge, 
gained  from  practice  as  well  as  supported  by 
modern  theory,  we  are  ready  to  prophesy  its 
failure ;  knowing,  as  we  do,  that  the  elemen- 
tary principles  of  science  cannot  be  acquired  by 
those  who  have  had  no  preliminary  intellectual 
training,  who  possess  no  elementary  knowledge,  and 
who  are  for  the  most  part  unable  to  read,  and  are 
ignorant  of  the  rudimentary  principles  of  arithmetic. 
So  that  we  are  prepared  to  say  that  Birkbeck 
was  neither  giving  special  training  to  those  who 
would  have  themselves  to  apply  the  discoveries  of 
science  to  industry,  nor  was  he  attempting  to 
give  that  kind  of  education  which  was  best  cal- 
culated to  counteract  the  deadening  and  mechanical 
3  19 


Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge. 

influences  of  constant  contact  with  the  monotony 
of  machinery. 

To  excite  interest  in  machinery  itself  may  in- 
deed have  been  one  means  of  counteracting  these 
influences ;  but  even  if  such  interest  could  be 
maintained,  without  that  basis  of  education  which 
can  alone  provide  a  foundation  for  a  progressive 
study  of  the  principles  of  science,  this  means  can 
only  affect  one  side  of  the  question.  The  views  of 
those  who  shared  Birkbeck's  opinion  are  well 
carried  out  in  Brougham's  discourse  "  On  the 
Objects,  Pleasures,  and  Advantages  of  Science," 
one  of  the  first  publications  of  the  "  Society  for  the 
Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge,"  founded  in  1827. 
As  we  now  read  this  discourse,  explaining  as  it 
does  with  "simplicity  of  expression  and  familiarity 
of  illustration,"  such  matters  as  the  method  of 
logarithms,  the  different  mathematical  curves,  the 
laws  of  motion,  the  principles  of  astronomy,  optics, 
and  electricity — in  fact,  resuming  in  summary  all 
that  was  then  known  in  science — we  must  feel  that 
the  uneducated  workman  may,  on  first  reading 
this  discourse,  have  been  interested  in  all  the 
marvels  displayed  before  his  eyes  ;  but  he  must 
speedily  have  discovered  that  he  was  unable  to 
pursue  their  study  with  any  chance  of  fathoming 
their  mysteries,  and  he  must  have  been  reduced 
to  that  state,  with  regard  to  which  it  may  truly  be 
said,  a  little  knowledge  is  a  dangerous  thing. 

20 


Mechanics'  Institutions — ■ 

Birkbeck's  classes  at  the  Andersonian  Institution 
offered  all  the  appearances  of  success  at  the  outset. 
The  first  of  his  lectures  was  attended  by  seventy- 
five  persons ;  the  second,  by  two  hundred  ;  at  the 
third,  more  than  three  hundred  workmen  were 
present ;  and  at  the  fourth,  above  five  hundred. 
He  soon  turned  his  attention  to  England,  with  no 
less  success.  Between  1815  and  1825,  Mechanics' 
Institutions  were  founded  in  all  parts  of  the  land. 
In  the  year  1841,  in  which  Birkbeck  died,  there 
were  no  less  than  two  hundred  and  twenty  of  these 
Institutions,  about  thirty-six  of  which  were  in 
London  and  the  suburbs.  A  large  number  of 
these  failed  to  achieve  the  object  for  which  they 
were  created.  Sir  Philip  Magnus,  in  a  lecture 
which  he  delivered  at  the  Cambridge  Summer 
Meeting  of  1900,  summarized  their  history  in  the 
following  words  : — "  The  history  of  most  of  these 
institutions  is  very  similar.  Some  of  them,  such 
as  the  institutes  of  Manchester,  Huddersfield,  and 
Leeds,  kept  alive  long  enough  to  be  converted  into 
Technical  Schools.  Others,  however,  led  a  lan- 
guishing existence,  and  degenerated  into  clubs,  or 
changed  the  character  of  their  work,  or  ceased  to 
exist.  Very  few  succe-eded  to  the  extent  expected 
by  their  founders,  and  yet  their  failure  was  in  no 
way  due  to  any  fault  in  their  conception  nor  in  their 
objects.  It  was  due,  in  the  first  place,  to  the  want 
of  adequate  funds,  and  secondly,  and  equally,  to 

21 


Their  Failure — • 

the  absence  among  the  workmen,  whom  they  were 
intended  to  benefit,  of  the  rudiments  of  primary 
education." 

From  the  failure  of  the  Mechanics'  Institutions, 
we  may  learn  another  lesson.  It  teaches  us  the 
impossibility  of  building  up  any  general  system  of 
education  without  looking  far  ahead  into  the  future, 
and  foreseeing  the  ultimate  meeting  and  harmony 
of  efforts  starting  from  points  widely  apart  in  the 
present.  Birkbeck  wished  to  teach  his  uneducated 
workmen  the  scientific  principles  underlying  the 
construction  of  the  new  machinery  and  the  pro- 
cesses of  manufacture  with  which  they  had  to  deal. 
The  benevolent  and  philanthropic  can  never  con- 
template with  resignation  the  inexorable  laws  of 
nature,  which  condemn  a  large  number  of  indi- 
viduals to  the  backwaters  of  the  stream  of 
progress  ;  and  in  the  struggle  which  they  wage 
against  these  laws  they  not  infrequently  neglect 
the  opportunities  for  promoting  in  the  surest  and 
most  natural  way  the  future  development  of  man- 
kind. The  education  of  ignorant  adults  can  at 
best  be  regarded  as  a  benevolent  palliative  for 
existing  wrongs.  That  the  workmen  in  Birkbeck's 
time  were  ignorant  and  incapable  of  appreciating 
the  application  of  the  discoveries  of  science  to  the 
processes  of  manufacture  undoubtedly  exposed 
the  nation's  neglect  of  its  own  interests,  and  of 
its  duty  to  the  lower  classes,  on  whose  labour  its 

22 


and  its  Causes. 

very  existence  depended.  But  the  only  way  of 
remedying  this,  so  as  to  ensure  the  future  prosperity 
of  the  nation,  was  by  educating  the  rising  genera- 
tion. 

Some  educational  philanthropists  are,  however, 
like  the  man  in  the  fable,  who  was  in  charge  of 
a  lighthouse,  and  who  gave  to  the  people,  starving 
in  the  huts  around  it,  the  oil  from  the  lamps,  with 
the  result  that  the  ships  which  were  bringing 
them  food  were  wrecked  on  the  rocks  for  want 
of  a  guiding  light.  Such  philanthropists  are  too 
prone  to  use  the  resources  at  their  command  as 
palliatives  of  present  distress  rather  than  as  safe- 
guards against  future  disaster.  Others,  again,  are 
anxious  to  gather  the  ripe  fruits  of  their  work  in 
their  lifetime,  and  to  this  end  promote  growth 
by  artificial  means,  which  are  bound  ultimately 
to  destroy  by  their  unnatural  strain  the  very 
sources  of  productiveness.  It  may,  indeed,  be  said 
that  in  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
many  voluntary  efforts,  and,  as  we  shall  see  later 
on,  a  number  of  the  efforts  of  the  State  as  well, 
took  the  form  of  a  series  of  experiments,  one  after 
the  other  of  which  proved  abortive,  to  arrive  at 
a  given  educational  end  by  a  shorter  route  than 
that  which  conforms  to  the  directions  of  nature. 

For  reasons  which  have  already  been  pointed 
out,  the  nation,  as  represented  by  the  central 
government,  has    never,   during   the   last  century, 

23 


Educational  Needs  of  Industrial  Classes. 

seriously  thought  out  the  whole  question  of  a 
national  system  of  education  as  Germany  and 
France  have  done.  Otherwise  the  failure  of  Birk- 
beck's  experiment  would  have  led  them  immedi- 
ately to  provide  proper  elementary  education  for 
the  working-classes.  This,  as  we  have  seen,  was 
not  done  until  1870.  In  the  mean  time,  however, 
the  great  efforts  of  the  National  and  the  British 
and  Foreign  Society  had  been  doing  all  that 
voluntary  effort  could  do  to  provide  elementary 
education  for  the  children  of  the  poor.  Thus,  when 
the  State  first  interfered  in  the  special  interests  of 
the  education  of  the  industrial  workers,  there  was 
some  sort  of  foundation  on  which  it  might  build. 
It  was,  therefore,  able  to  start  its  work  under  more 
favourable  conditions  than  those  which  Dr.  Birk- 
beck  had  to  face.  But,  before  considering  this 
work  of  the  State,  we  must  refer  again  for  one 
moment  to  the  two  classes  of  persons  who  were 
chiefly  affected  by  the  application  of  the  dis- 
coveries of  science  to  the  processes  of  manufac- 
ture. 

In  the  first  place,  as  we  have  already  remarked, 
there  were  those  who  were  destined  to  continue 
among  the  lower  ranks  of  mechanics,  and  who  were 
thus  affected  by  the  destruction  in  great  measure 
of  their  independence.  For  them,  education  in 
its  broadest  sense  was  necessary  ;  an  education  of 
which  the  first  duty  was  to  counteract  the  mental, 

24 


Educational  Needs  of  Industrial  Classes. 

moral,  and  physical  evils  of  the  new  conditions  of 
labour  ;  in  short,  what  is  generally  understood  by 
elementary  education.  If  these  people  could  com- 
plete their  elementary  education  by  some  instruc- 
tion in  the  principles  of  science,  so  much  the  better. 
But  for  them,  the  first  thing  essential  was  not  a 
knowledge  of  the  principles  of  science,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  fact  that  such  a  knowledge  cannot 
be  acquired,  as  was  proved  by  the  failure  of  Dr. 
Birkbeck's  experiment,  without  the  preliminary 
training  afforded  by  the  elementary  school. 

But,  in  the  second  place,  there  was  that  class  of 
persons  who  would  be  called  upon  to  control  the 
new  forces  introduced  into  industry.  This  class 
may  be  divided  roughly  into  two  divisions  :  those 
who,  in  their  capacity  of  masters  or  managers,  are 
the  leaders  of  industry,  and  the  heads  of  great 
enterprises,  and  those  who  occupy  a  position 
corresponding  to  that  of  a  foreman.  The  know- 
ledge required  by  the  former  is  evidently  much 
greater  than  that  necessary  for  the  latter.  In  fact, 
while  the  leaders  must  have  had  the  best  scientific 
training  possible,  and  have  mastered  all  the  higher 
branches  of  science  bearing  on  the  manufacture  or 
industry  with  which  they  will  be  concerned,  the 
latter  cannot  be  expected  to  afford  that  expendi- 
ture in  time  and  money  demanded  by  so  arduous 
a  course  of  studies.  It  is  certainly  more  difficult 
to   decide   what  should  be  the    education   of  the 

25 


Educational  Needs  of  Industrial  Classes. 

latter  class  than  what  kind  is  best  suited  to  the 
requirements  of  the  former. 

It  is  the  custom  to  select  a  foreman  from  the 
best  of  the  workmen,  in  much  the  same  way  as  a 
noncommissioned  officer  is  selected  in  the  army. 
His  position  is  not  always  one  which  requires 
superior  knowledge  so  much  as  a  certain  natural 
talent  for  managing  and  directing  his  fellows.  If, 
therefore,  it  is  essential  that  he  should  rise  from 
the  ranks,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  he  is  to  be 
provided  at  the  outset  with  a  better  education 
than  the  ordinary  workman.  If  opportunities  are 
within  his  reach  for  continuing  his  education 
in  his  spare  time,  after  he  has  begun  to  earn  his 
living,  he  will  be  sure  to  take  advantage  of 
them  if  he  intends  to  rise.  His  need  of  special 
knowledge  beyond  that  of  the  ordinary  workman 
is  so  slight  that  it  can  hardly  be  worth  the  nation's 
while  to  provide  special  day-schools,  directly  in 
continuation  of  the  elementary  school,  to  complete 
his  education.  And,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  add, 
no  education  will  ever  bestow  the  qualities  of 
command. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  to  the  nation's 
interest  to  give  every  opportunity  to  talent  to 
reach  its  natural  high-water  mark ;  there  is  cer- 
tainly no  reason,  or  at  any  rate,  no  justification, 
for  its  spending  money  in  checking  the  rise  of 
talent     by     premature     specialization.       In     this 

26 


The  Preservation  of  Talent. 

connection  the  fact  is  sometimes  overlooked  that, 
although  the  science  of  education  is  still  very 
largely  based  on  hypotheses  which  have  not  been 
finally  proved,  it  is  beyond  doubt  that  the  pro- 
cess of  education  must  conform  to  the  course 
of  the  pupil's  natural  development.  Starting  from 
a  broad  basis,  it  gradually  narrows  its  limits  until, 
to  use,  for  the  sake  of  illustration,  a  geometrical 
figure,  it  closes  in  upon,  and  finally  proceeds  along, 
a  line  of  specialization,  naturally  selected  by  the 
pupil.  It  generally  happens  that  the  greater  the 
talent,  the  longer  is  the  point  of  specialization 
delayed ;  and  consequently  the  broader  is  the 
sphere  of  general  culture  which  the  course  of 
development  embraces.  If  education  can  have  any 
effect  whatever  on  this  development — and  that  it 
has  a  very  great  effect  can  hardly  be  denied — 
it  can  certainly  stunt  it  by  forcing  a  pupil  to 
specialize  before  he  has  selected  his  natural  line. 
And,  if  existing  social  and  economic  conditions 
make  it  impossible  for  all  talented  children  of  the 
poorer  classes  to  receive  the  highest  education  for 
which  they  are  fitted,  we  can  at  least  bring  some 
redress  by  refusing  to  sanction  any  attempt  to  kill 
talent  by  an  artificial  stunting  of  natural  develop- 
ment through  education  ;  we  can  at  least  offer  a 
broad,  general  elementary  education  for  the  child 
who  is  compelled  to  earn  his  living  at  the  age  of 
thirteen  or  fourteen,  and  allow  him  to  continue  this 

27 


The  Preservation  of  Talent 

education  in  the  evening  school  according  to  his 
natural  taste.  To  attempt  to  supplement  his 
elementary  education  by  a  course  of  specialized 
training,  extending  over  two  or  three  years,  so  as 
to  fit  him  for  the  duties  of  a  foreman,  is  morally 
wrong,  a  financial  extravagance,  and  will  incur  an 
ultimate  loss  of  talent  to  the  nation. 

How  this  has  been  done  in  France  as  a  check  on 
social  aspirations  will  be  seen  in  a  later  chapter ; 
in  England,  with  our  present  social  organization, 
such  a  check  is  unnecessary.  If  any  education 
higher  than  elementary  is  to  be  provided  for  those 
children  who  can  afford  to  stay  at  school  until  the 
age  of  sixteen,  but  not  later,  it  should  be  of  such  a 
kind  as  will  promote  and  not  retard  the  general 
development  of  talented  pupils.  The  technical 
day  school  for  children  between  the  ages  of  thirteen 
and  sixteen  has,  therefore,  no  place  in  a  system 
of  national  education  which  is  built  up  with  due 
regard  to  natural  laws  and  national  economy. 
And  yet  the  English  Government  attempted  to 
provide  such  schools  alone,  when  it  did  at  last 
begin  to  consider  the  educational  foundations  of 
trade  and  industry. 


28 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  ATTEMPTS  OF  THE  ENGLISH  GOVERNMENT 
TO  LAY  EDUCATIONAL  FOUNDATIONS. 

When  the  struggle  between  oligarchy  and  demo- 
cracy was  at  its  height,  an  event  happened  which 
warned  the  English  people  of  the  existence  of 
other  nations  competing  with  them  in  trade  and 
industry.  In  185 1  the  first  International  Ex- 
hibition was  held  in  Hyde  Park.  To  this  ex- 
hibition foreign  countries  brought  the  products 
of  their  industry,  and  we  were  able  to  compare 
them  with  our  own.  The  effect  of  this  com- 
parison seems  to  have  been  to  warn  us  that  the 
taste  and  training  of  our  manufacturers  was 
sadly  deficient.  Owing  to  the  influence  of  the 
Prince  Consort — who,  when  all  is  known,  will 
probably  be  found  to  have  seen  deeper  into  our 
educational  needs  than  any  one  else  of  his  time — 
the  profits  from  this  Exhibition,  amounting  to 
jif  186,436,  together  with  a  parliamentary  grant  of 
£  1 50,000,  were  devoted  to  the  purchase  of  land  in 
South  Kensington.     The  Prince  Consort,  in  a  letter 

29 


The  International  Exhibition  of  1851. 

to  Lord  Playfair,  propounded,  in  connection  with 
the  use  to  which  this  land  should  be  put,  a  scheme 
of  "  instruction  for  those  engaged  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  arts  and  manufactures."  As  a  direct 
consequence  of  his  efforts,  the  Science  and  Art 
Department  was  formally  established  in  1853. 
This  does  not,  however,  represent  the  first  recog- 
nition by  the  State  of  its  duties  with  regard  to  the 
education  of  the  industrial  classes.  In  1837  ^^^ 
Committee  of  Trade  (now  known  as  the  Board  of 
Trade)  extorted  a  sum  of  ;^i5oo  from  the  Treasury 
for  the  creation  of  a  central  Government  School 
of  Design,  and  in  1841  provincial  schools  of  design 
were  started  with  the  aid  of  Government  grants. 

To  the  influence  of  the  Prince  Consort  is  due  the 
gathering  together  and  focussing  at  South  Ken- 
sington of  the  scattered  forces  then  existing,*  so 
that  one  department  of  the  Government  might  be 
able  to  control  all  industrial  education.  This  was 
the  result  of  the  warning  to  the  nation  as  to  foreign 
competition  sounded  by  the  International  Ex- 
hibition of  185  [.  That  this  warning  did  not  bring 
about  the  establishment  of  a  national  system  of 
education,  in  which  the  Government  controlled  or 
supervised  schools  of  all  types,  was  due,  as  we  have 

*  Note  also  the  foundation  of  the  Royal  College  of  Science  under 
a  different  title  in  1851.  It  was  not,  however,  until  more  than 
twenty  years  later  that  this  institution  was  transferred  to  Soutli 
Kensington. 

30 


Creation  of  Science  and  Art  Department. 

already  seen,  to  the  fact  that  the  people  had  not 
yet  carried  out  that  change  in  the  form  of  govern- 
ment on  which  they  were  bent.  Until  this  change 
was  accomplished,  the  Government  could  not 
command  their  confidence,  and  thus  itself  acquire 
that  sense  of  permanency  without  which  it  could 
not  attempt  to  adopt  a  consistent  and  far-reaching 
policy. 

The  Science  and  Art  Department  was  created 
to  control  and  organize  industrial  education. 
Before  we  consider  the  work  which  it  has  done  in 
England,  it  is  necessary  to  have  some  idea  of  the 
difficulties  which  it  had  to  face  at  the  outset.  Dr. 
Birkbeck's  experiment  had  proved — for  those  to 
whom  it  needed  proving — the  impossibility  of  im- 
parting scientific  knowledge  to  adults  who  had 
received  no  general  elementary  education.  The 
Science  and  Art  Department,  therefore,  recognized 
that  elementary  education  must  form  the  founda- 
tion of  its  work.  Not  only  was  all  such  education, 
however,  provided  at  that  time  by  voluntary  effort, 
but  it  was  not  until  three  years  later  that  the  Educa- 
tion Department  was  appointed  to  exercise  some 
sort  of  State  supervision  over  these  efforts.  And  so 
hopelessly  did  the  voluntary  schools  fail  to  meet 
the  national  demand  that,  even  in  1870,  when  the 
great  Education  Act  was  passed,  it  was  discovered 
that  although  in  London,  with  an  estimated  popu- 
lation of  3,258,000,  there  were,   according  to  the 

31 


State  of  Elementary  Education. 

Government's  method  of  calculating,  543,000 
children  requiring  education,  there  was  actually 
accommodation  for  373,314  only.  Further,  when 
the  Government  inspectors  came  to  investigate  this 
accommodation,  they  discovered  that  it  only  pro- 
vided for  275,136  children  in  efficient  schools. 
From  this  it  may  be  judged  what  was  the  state  of 
affairs  over  the  whole  of  England  ;  and  it  must  be 
remembered  that  these  figures  represent  what  was 
being  done  nearly  twenty  years  after  the  creation 
of  the  Science  and  Art  Department,  although  the 
interval  had  witnessed  extraordinary  efforts  on 
the  part  of  voluntary  societies  to  make  proper 
provision  for  elementary  education  in  England. 
What  chance  had  a  Government  Office  to  build  up 
a  system  of  education  on  such  a  foundation  as  this  ? 
In  1856,  when  the  Education  Department  was 
created,  it  seems  to  have  occurred  to  the  Govern- 
ment that  it  would  be  advantageous  to  the  educa- 
tion of  the  working-classes  if  the  State  control  of 
all  their  schools  were  centred  in  one  body.  Con- 
sequently the  Science  and  Art  Department  was 
removed  from  the  Board  of  Trade  to  the  new 
Education  Department,  which  thus  included 
branches  for  the  control  of  primary  as  well  as 
industrial  education.  After  the  Act  of  1870,  when 
the  primary  branch  had  received  a  mandate  from 
the  people  to  insist  on  the  provision  of  primary 
schools  in  sufficient  number  to  meet  all  national 


Blunder  of  Government. 

needs,  there  must  have  appeared  to  the  educational 
enthusiast  of  the  day  a  very  excellent  chance  for 
the  two  united  branches  to  build  up  a  national 
system  of  education — in  so  far  as  the  lower  working- 
classes  were  concerned.  But  in  1884  the  Science 
and  Art  Department  was  separated  from  the 
primary  branch,  which  was  henceforth  known 
by  the  distinctive  appellation  of  the  Education 
Department.  This  was,  undoubtedly,  a  great 
mistake,  and  shows  how  far  the  Government  still 
was  from  any  idea  of  a  national  system  of  educa- 
tion. The  quite  unnecessary  rivalry,  which  was 
thus  created  between  these  two  branches,  led  to 
much  extravagance  and  much  waste  of  energy  ; 
indeed,  it  took  a  good  many  years  for  the  Educa- 
tion Department  to  wrest  from  the  Science  and 
Art  Department  certain  powers  over  primary 
schools  which  it  had  acquired. 

If  other  countries  had  made  the  same  blunders, 
we  might  feel  inclined  to  say  that  only  experi- 
ence can  prove  that  it  is  impossible,  by  starting 
from  the  bottom  and  ignoring  all  that  is  actually 
being  done  in  the  higher  spheres,  to  build  up  a 
national  system  of  education,  or  even  a  satisfactory 
system  for  the  working-classes.  But  other  countries 
have  not  made  the  same  blunders,  a  fact  which  such 
authorities  as  Matthew  Arnold  never  ceased  to 
point  out.  When  reporting  in  1886  on  elementary 
education  in  Germany,  Switzerland,   and   France, 

33 


Matthew  Arnold's  Warning. 

Matthew  Arnold  closed  with  these  memorable 
words — 

"And  this  brings  me,  thirdly  and  finally,  to  the 
point  raised  at  the  end  of  my  first  remark,  and 
urged  by  me  so  often  and  so  vainly  ever  since  my 
mission  abroad  in  1859;  our  need  to  organize  otir 
secondary  instruction.  This  is  desirable  in  the 
interest  of  our  higher  and  secondary  instruction,  of 
course,  principally  ;  but  it  is  desirable,  I  may  say 
it  is  indispensable,  in  the  interest  of  our  popular 
instruction  also.  Every  one  now  admits  that 
popular  instruction  is  a  matter  for  public  insti- 
tution and  supervision  ;  but  so  long  as  public 
institution  and  supervision  stop  there,  and  no 
contact  and  correlation  are  established  between 
our  popular  instruction  and  the  instruction  above 
it,  so  long  the  condition  of  our  popular  instruction 
itself  will  and  must  be  unsatisfactory." 

It  seems,  however,  to  have  been  decreed  that  only 
the  experience  of  failure  should  bring  home  this 
apparently  self-evident  truth  to  the  minds  of  the 
English  people.  The  disastrous  effects  of  attempt- 
ing to  build  up  an  educational  system,  while 
ignoring  what  was  being  done  in  higher  spheres, 
soon  made  themselves  felt.  An  educational  system, 
like  most  other  things  possessing  vitality,  has  a 
tendency  to  grow  upwards.  The  primary  school 
naturally  presses  up  into  the  secondary  sphere,  and 
the  secondary  school  into    the  university  sphere. 

34 


Secondary  Schools  and  Universities. 

If  each  of  these  higher  spheres  present  insuperable 
obstacles  to  the  natural  growth  of  these  schools, 
the  lower  branches  of  the  system  will  be  diverted 
from  their  natural  course  and  develop  along  a 
line  of  their  own.  We  have  only  to  look  at  the 
proceedings  of  nature  on  all  sides  to  perceive  that 
this  is  a  general  law  governing  the  course  of  all 
progressive  forces.  The  chief  aim  of  human 
economy  is  to  assist  all  forces  to  attain  their 
ultimate  aim  with  the  least  waste  of  energy,  and, 
therefore,  to  derive  from  them  the  maximum  of 
benefit.  This  is  generally  achieved  by  the  removal 
of  obstacles  and  the  lessening  of  friction — in  other 
words,  by  organization.  Before  coming  to  any 
conclusion  as  to  how  this  organization  can  best  be 
carried  out  so  as  to  meet  the  needs  of  our  indus- 
trial and  commercial  classes,  the  conditions  which 
have  characterized  the  development  of  our  higher 
educational  system  in  the  past  must  be  taken  into 
account. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  there 
was  in  England  only  one  kind  of  education  at  the 
disposal  of  those  who  were  in  so  fortunate  a 
position  as  not  to  be  obliged  to  place  any  limit  on 
the  expense  or  duration  of  their  school  career. 
Our  secondary  schools  and  universities  alike  pro- 
vided a  classical  course  of  studies  alone.  Their 
object  was,  and  for  long  had  been,  to  educate 
gentlemen  and  scholars.  If  the  gentleman  had  the 
4  35 


Education  of  Gentlemen  and  Scholars. 

makings  of  a  scholar  in  him,  so  much  the  better ; 
if  not,  his  education  was  conducted  on  the  lines 
which  it  had  followed  since  the  days  of  the 
Renaissance.  Skill  in  various  sports,  and  some 
acquaintance  with  classical  languages  and  litera- 
tures, were  considered  indispensable  to  his  culture. 
Such  an  education  cost  money,  and,  fortunately  or 
unfortunately,  proved  a  great  attraction  in  the 
days  of  sharp  social  distinctions  to  any  man  who, 
having  risen  through  trade  to  a  position  of  wealth, 
found  himself  able  to  procure  it  for  his  sons.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  century,  however,  obstacles 
were  thrown-  in  the  way  of  all  Nonconformists, 
practically  precluding  them  from  this  education, 
and  it  was  not  until  after  a  hard  fight  that  their 
disabilities  at  the  universities  were  removed.  So 
that,  in  the  early  days  of  the  industrial  revolution, 
a  very  large  number  of  our  manufacturers  and 
commercial  men  regarded  the  traditional  education 
of  an  English  gentleman  as  something  associated 
with  a  religious  faith  which  they  abhorred.  But 
once  the  disabilities  were  removed  we  find  that 
such  men  were  quick  to  avail  themselves  of  their 
new  privileges,  and  that  the  attendance  of  their 
sons  at  the  universities  rapidly  increased. 

As  every  gentleman  who  did  not  enter  the  Navy 
or  Army  considered  residence  at  a  university  as  an 
essential  part  of  his  preparation  for  life,  our  uni- 
versities were   obliged    to   provide   education    for 

36 


Classical   Education. 

men  with  brains  and  men  with  a  very  ordinary 
mental  capacity,  two  classes  which  are,  on  the 
whole,  fairly  represented  to-day  at  Oxford  and 
Cambridge  by  what  are  popularly  known  as 
Honours  men  and  Pass  men.  The  man  with- 
out brains  was  not  educated  in  a  different  way  to 
the  man  who  was  fortunate  enough  to  possess 
them — the  difference  was  one  of  quantity  rather 
than  of  quality  or  method.  All  received  a  classical 
education  which,  in  those  days,  when  the  horizon 
of  knowledge  was  infinitely  more  restricted  than 
at  present,  was  all  that  was  considered  worthy 
of  the  scholar.  And  our  secondary  schools  pre- 
pared for  the  universities,  and  were  supposed  to 
offer  but  a  more  elementary  course  of  the  same 
classical  studies. 

So  long  had  classics  held  undisputed  sway  of 
the  field,  that  teachers  had  arrived  at  peculiar 
skill  in  adapting  what  now  seems  to  us  the 
limited  material  at  their  disposal  to  the  demands 
of  education.  So  carefully  had  they  thought  out 
the  particular  mental  training  which  was  provided 
by  the  different  sections  of  these  studies,  that  it 
must  have  been  exceedingly  difficult  for  them  to 
find  a  place  for  new  instruments  of  culture  in  their 
complete  schemes,  without  destroying  the  whole 
balance  of  the  education  which  they  furnished. 
This  explains  their  not  unnatural  opposition  to 
the  new  branches  of  learning,  which  rushed  into 


Conservatism  of  Universities. 

the  field  of  human  knowledge  following  the  rapid 
discoveries  of  science.  Moreover,  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  the  idea  of  utility  had  never  entered 
into  their  calculations.  Having  only  to  consider 
the  needs  of  scholars,  whose  first  object  was  not 
merely  to  earn  a  living,  and  of  those  gentlemen 
who  could  not  hope  to  rise  to  the  intellectual 
heights  of  scholars,  but  who  rarely  had  to  look 
forward  to  the  necessity  of  gaining  their  own 
livelihood,  it  had  never  occurred  to  teachers  and 
professors  that  it  was  part  of  their  duty  to  pre- 
pare students  to  meet  the  more  practical  demands 
of  life.  Had  they  been  obliged  to  do  so  we  might 
not  now  be  behind  other  nations  in  the  education 
which  we  offer  to  our  industrial  leaders. 

It  is  exceedingly  important,  in  view  of  the 
present  difficulties  which  we  experience  in  or- 
ganizing our  educational  system,  to  recognize  at 
the  outset  these  two  objections  on  the  part  of  the 
universities  to  the  introduction  of  new  studies  into 
their  curricula.  For  we  find  to-day  that  the 
scholar  is  too  often  not  less  conservative  and  not 
less  prejudiced  against  any  departure  from  tra- 
dition than  those  who  base  their  claims  to  social 
superiority — and  it  may  even  be  to  political  prefer- 
ment— on  their  inheritance  from  the  past  rather 
than  on  their  own  personal  merit.  This,  coupled 
with  the  not  unnatural  dread  of  upsetting  a  care- 
fully balanced  scheme  of  studies,  perfected  by  three 

38 


German  Universities  and  National  Life. 

hundred  years  of  experience,  is  at  root  the  cause 
of  the  strife  which  is  waged  hardly  less  bitterly 
to-day  between  classical  and  modern  studies. 

There  was  only  one  thing  which  could  have 
forced  the  universities  to  widen  their  course  of 
studies  so  as  to  keep  pace  with  the  marvellous 
scientific  progress  of  the  first  half  of  the  century. 
Had  there  been  any  strong  external  opposition, 
such  as  we  have  seen  would  have  compelled  the 
people  to  build  up  a  national  system  of  education, 
the  universities  might  have  been  led  to  consider 
what  they  could  do  through  education  to  assist 
the  nation  in  its  struggle.  But,  as  we  have  seen, 
this  did  not  exist,  and  the  country  was  busy  with 
internal  reforms,  with  which  conservative  univer- 
sities could,  as  a  whole,  have  but  little  sympathy. 
Indeed,  generally  speaking,  it  may  be  said  that  in 
England  the  university  authorities  have  never 
taken  that  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  nation 
which  is  to  be  found  in  those  countries  where  the 
national  instincts  have  been  aroused  by  the  shock 
of  foreign  opposition.  In  Germany,  for  instance, 
the  university  professor  is  ever  watching  the  trend 
of  national  affairs,  and  is  always  considering  how 
his  work  can  best  be  made  to  serve  the  national 
cause.  He  is  not  a  mere  scholar,  cut  off  by  the 
walls  of  his  cloisters  from  the  great  movements 
which  are  disturbing  and  trying  the  strength  of  the 
P'^ople  outside.    There  are,  certainly,  disadvantages 

39 


Scientific  Education. 

in  allowing  the  teaching  world  to  be  affected  by 
political  influences.  But  nobody  who  has  had 
an  opportunity  of  comparing  the  German  univer- 
sities with  our  own  can  deny  that  there  is  a  very 
distinct  advantage  when  professors,  and  all  those 
who  determine  the  destinies  of  universities,  are 
imbued  with  a  keen  sense  of  the  importance  of  the 
various  forces  on  which  national  welfare  depends. 
None  of  these  forces  are  to  be  despised,  even  if 
they  are  directed  towards  the  promotion  of  occu- 
pations from  which  by  tradition  the  upper  classes 
held  aloof.  Indeed,  it  is  owing  entirely  to  Ger- 
many's national  difficulties,  as  we  shall  see  later 
on,  that  an  educational  policy  arose  which  opened 
a  path  by  which  talent  in  all  ranks  of  society 
might  attain  to  the  highest  culture,  and  which 
endeavoured  to  provide  the  kind  of  school  most 
suitable  as  a  preparation  for  the  different  classes 
of  occupations.  It  is  not  until  the  German  nation 
had  established  itself  firmly,  and  that  the  dread 
of  foreign  attacks  was  diminished,  that  we  find 
social  prejudices  as  to  the  different  courses  of 
instruction  again  in  evidence. 

Jt  was  not  until  185 1  that  an  honours  examina- 
tion in  natural  science  was  created  at  Cambridge. 
Two  years  later  Oxford  followed  the  example  of 
Cambridge.  We  may  take  these  dates  as  marking 
the  first  serious  attempt  in  England  to  place 
science  on  a  level  with  the  classical  languages  as 

40 


Utilitarianism  and  Idealism. 

a  subject  of  instruction  and  a  means  of  intellectual 
discipline.  Thus,  at  last,  was  some  special  oppor- 
tunity given  to  the  leaders  of  industry  to  acquire 
that  theoretical  knowledge  of  scientific  principles 
which  was  necessitated  by  the  revolution  which 
had  taken  place  in  the  processes  of  manufacture. 
The  secondary  schools  were  naturally  followed  by 
the  universities ;  but  the  modernizing  of  these 
curricula  was  only  carried  out  in  accordance  with 
the  proportion  existing  between  the  classical  and 
science  scholarships  offered  by  the  universities. 

The  director  of  a  German  technical  school,  which 
played  a  leading  part  in  the  development  of  tech- 
nical education  in  his  country,  has  remarked  : 
"Technical  education  designed  exclusively  to 
meet  the  demands  of  a  special  occupation  would 
isolate  the  technicist  from  civic  life  by  which  he 
is  surrounded,  and  would  alienate  him  from  the 
ideal  interests  of  society."  So  prevalent  has  this 
view  been  in  Germany,  that  great  emphasis  has 
always  been  laid  on  the  acquisition  of  general 
culture  in  the  technical  high  schools.  These  institu- 
tions have  indeed  adopted  the  highest  educational 
aims  of  the  university ;  and  so  far  have  they 
succeeded,  that  in  some  cases  candidates  for  the 
teaching  profession  in  secondary  schools  are 
allowed  by  the  authorities  to  prepare  in  them  to 
teach  mathematics  and  natural  science. 

It  can  hardly  be  denied  that  our  leaders  in 
41 


Utilitarianism  and  Idealism. 

commerce  and  industry  can  as  ill  afford  to  be 
strangers  to  the  ideals  of  the  human  race  as  other 
members  of  society.  The  development  of  our 
technical  schools  in  England,  and,  it  may  be  said, 
of  all  the  special  education  of  our  industrial  classes, 
has  so  far  been  dominated  by  that  spirit  of  realism 
which  owes  its  power  in  this  country  to  the  hopes 
that  were  raised  in  the  human  mind  by  the  dawn 
of  the  great  age  of  scientific  discovery.  There 
have  not  been  wanting  in  all  countries  philosophers 
to  preach  the  advent  in  the  near  future  of  such 
discoveries  as  would  enable  us  to  explain  the 
motive  of  all  human  action.  With  the  new  ex- 
ample of  machinery  ever  before  their  eyes,  con- 
forming with  mathematical  precision  to  certain 
inexorable  laws  of  force,  people  readily  believed 
that  all  mysteries  would  soon  be  explained,  and 
that  human  action,  in  its  individual,  social,  and 
international  aspects,  must  also  conform  to  certain 
fixed  laws  which  ignored  the  eccentricities  of 
idealism.  Such  laws,  it  was  hoped,  would  remove 
all  need  of  the  controlling  influence  of  those  mys- 
terious aspirations  on  which  have  been  based  in 
the  past  the  distinction  between  right  and  wrong. 
According  to  an  eminent  contemporary  French- 
man,* the  return  to  idealism  is  a  consequence  of 
the  bankruptcy   of  science  ;  for  those  of  us   who 

*  M,  Ferdinand  Brunetiere.     Cf.  "La  Renaissance  de  I'ldeal- 
isme."     1896. 

42 


Utilitarianism  and  Idealism. 

have  not,  as  he  has,  an  extreme  cause  to  defend,  it 
is  rather  due  to  the  return  of  the  human  mind  to 
a  normal  temperature,  after  the  feverish  excitement 
of  the  years  in  which  science  first  placed  super- 
human forces  under  the  control  of  man.  The  old 
moral  code  has  again  resumed  that  supremacy 
from  which  the  doctrine  of  self-interest  had  for  a 
short  time  ousted  it.  All  but  a  few  sturdy  un- 
believers now  recognize  that  society  depends  for 
its  existence  on  the  cohesive  force  supplied  by  the 
old  moral  and  aesthetic  aspirations. 

The  doctrine  of  self-interest  found  a  congenial 
atmosphere  in  the  England  of  the  latter  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  The  stern  struggle  for  indi- 
vidual liberty  against  the  stubbornly  yielding 
forces  of  conservatism,  tends  to  throw  men  back 
upon  their  own  individual  resources,  and  to  lead 
them  to  believe  that  individual  interests  offer  the 
highest  aim  to  human  wishes.  On  the  other  hand, 
history  teaches  us  that,  where  ideals  are  strongest 
— not  necessarily  the  highest — nationalism  is  most 
potent.  And,  in  a  certain  sense,  the  converse  is 
also  true.  Where  we  find  unity  forced  upon  a 
nation  in  face  of  external  opposition,  there  we  also 
find  idealism  prevailing  over  realistic  doctrines.  A 
contemporary  author,  who  has  probably  done  more 
than  any  one  else  to  reawaken  the  sentiment  of 
nationhood  in  England,  has  remarked  : — 

"  Prussia  deserved  the  position  at  the  head  of 
43 


"True  Hearts  and  Clear  Heads." 

Germany  which  she  won  in  1866,  and  maintained 
in  1870.  It  had  been  her  peculiar  distinction  that, 
in  the  days  of  her  misfortunes,  .  .  .  her  patriots 
sought  and  found  the  path  of  national  regeneration. 
They  thought  that  the  way  to  make  Germany  a 
great  nation  was  to  create  in  the  Germans  the 
qualities  that  produce  national  greatness.  True 
hearts  and  clear  heads  were  the  great  requisite."  . .  .* 

In  industrial  England,  the  tendency  has  been  to 
consider  in  our  education  clear  heads  alone.  A 
consequence  of  this  one-sided  striving  after  a 
sharpening  of  the  individual  intellect,  has  been  a 
neglect  of  due  attention  to  those  common  ideals 
which  constitute  the  basis  of  national  life.  The 
philosophical  reasons  here  suggested  may  explain 
the  rise  of  that  utilitarian  spirit  which  has  led  to 
premature  specialization  in  education.  A  more 
immediate  cause  may  be  found  in  the  political 
conditions  to  which  we  have  already  referred. 

The  Exhibition  of  185 1  did,  indeed,  open  the 
eyes  of  the  people  to  the  need  of  the  better  educa- 
tion of  our  industrial  classes.  On  the  advice  of 
the  Prince  Consort,  the  Society  of  Arts  organized 
a  series  of  lectures  on  the  results  of  the  Exhibi- 
tion. Mr.  (afterwards  Lord)  Playfair  delivered  one 
of  these  lectures  on  "  The  Chemical  Principles 
involved  in  the  Manufactures  of  the  Exhibition  as 
indicating  the  Necessity  of  Industrial  Instruction." 

•  Mr.  Spenser  Wilkinson,  "  The  Great  Alternative,"  p.  72.    1S94. 

44 


"  The  Horses  or  the  Harness." 

In  this  lecture  he  insisted  on  the  fact  that  "it  is 
abstract  and  not  practical  Science  that  is  the  life 
and  soul  of  Industry."  And  from  many  passages 
which  are  well  worth  reading  to-day,  the  following 
may  be  quoted  in  continuation  of  the  foregoing 
assertion  : — "  The  cultivators  of  abstract  Science, 
the  searchers  after  truth,  for  eternal  truth's  own 
sake,  are — to  borrow  a  simile,  I  believe,  of  Canning 
— the  horses  of  the  chariot  of  industry ;  those  who 
usefully  apply  the  truths,  are  the  harness  by  which 
the  motion  is  communicated  to  the  chariot.  But 
is  the  chariot  drawn  by  the  horses  or  the  harness  ? 
Truth  to  say,  in  this  country  of  ours — and,  mark 
you  well,  in  no  other  country  in  Europe — we 
honour  the  harness,  but  neglect  the  horses.  .  .  . 
The  cause  would  appear  to  be  that  we  chiefly 
honour  those  who  are  useful  in  our  time  and  gene- 
ration ;  that  our  eyes  are  too  eagerly  bent  upon 
the  golden  prize,  for  which  we  are  all  running ; 
and  that  we  can  only  afford  to  throw  a  kind  of 
theoretical  squint  of  recognition  on  those  men 
who  are  looking  for  sublime  truths,  careless  as  to 
whether  they  will  have  any  immediate  effect  on 
industrial  progress.  And  yet  it  is  these  very  men 
that  give  strength  to  the  sinews  of  a  future  genera- 
tion, enabling  it  to  keep  its  place  in  the  industrial 
struggle  of  nations."  These  words  were  spoken 
fifty  years  ago,  and  since  then  the  nation  has 
learned    to    appreciate    at    their    true    value    our 

45 


**  Bricks  without  Straw." 

greatest  men  of  science  ;  but  we  have  not  yet 
learned  the  need  of  the  highest  kind  of  scientific 
training  for  our  leaders  of  industry.  To  con- 
tinue the  above  simile  :  we  now  feed  the  horses, 
but  we  pay  little  attention  to  the  quality  of  the 
harness. 

The  Science  and  Art  Department,  when  it  began 
its  work  as  the  official  organizer  and  controller  of 
industrial  education,  experienced,  in  a  higher  sphere, 
precisely  the  same  difficulties  as  led  to  the  failure 
of  Dr.  Birkbeck's  efforts.  This  would  have  been 
foreseen  by  the  Government- — as  it  was  foreseen 
by  all  thoughtful  men  of  the  period — if  external 
opposition  had  obliged  the  people  to  consider  the 
whole  question  of  education  from  a  general  national 
point  of  view.  But,  as  we  have  seen,  this  was  not 
the  case  ;  and  the  Science  and  Art  Department 
was  commissioned  by  the  State  to  do  the  best  it 
could  to  build  up  an  important  part  of  the  national 
system  on  insecure  foundations.  The  Government 
of  Egypt,  when  it  set  the  children  of  Israel  the 
task  of  making  bricks  without  straw,  did  so  with  a 
distinct  purpose,  in  that  it  wished  to  increase  their 
burden  by  throwing  upon  them  the  responsibility 
of  finding  straw  for  themselves.  Our  Government 
threw  the  same  responsibility  upon  the  Science 
and  Art  Department,  but  it  did  it  in  ignorance 
of  the  fact  that  straw  was  necessary  for  its  bricks. 
The  Department  consequently  spent  a  great  part 

46 


Government  and  Secondary  Education. 

of  its  time  and  energies  in  an  attempt  to  find 
straw,  and  has  only  succeeded  in  the  making  of 
bricks  when,  like  the  children  of  Israel,  it  has  used 
stubble  in  its  stead. 

When  once,  by  the  Act  of  1870,  the  Science  and 
Art  Department  was  at  last  furnished  with  a  proper 
basis  of  elementary  education,  it  still  found  that  the 
secondary  schools  provided  little  more  than  the 
old-fashioned  and  one-sided  classical  education. 
The  persistence  of  these  schools  *  in  maintaining 
this  type  of  education  has  unfortunately  strength- 
ened the  hand  of  those  who  hold  an  extreme 
view,  and  would  altogether  banish  classical  studies 
from  the  secondary  education  of  boys  who  are 
destined  to  promote  the  trade  and  industry  of  our 
country.  Indeed,  this  persistence  has  brought  all 
literary  studies,  modern  as  well  as  classical,  into 
disrepute  among  a  certain  class  of  people. 

The  Science  and  Art  Department,  which  was 
commissioned  by  the  nation  to  build  up  a  system 
of  industrial  education,  now  found  the  duty  thrust 
upon  it  of  remodelling  the  classical  secondary 
schools,  so  that  they  might  offer  a  proper  founda- 
tion on  which  it  could  build.  But  this  was  a  task 
which  it  was  in  no  way  qualified  to  undertake. 
The  more  satisfactorily  it  was  constituted  to  build 
up  a  system  of  instruction  in  science  and  art,  the 
less  was  it  fitted  to  determine  the  general  course 
*  As  iaflueiiced  by  the  universities  ;  cf.  p.  35  et  sqq. 

47 


Premature  Specialization. 

of  studies  which  must  not  only  form  a  foundation 
for  its  own  special  designs,  but  must  also  satisfy 
other  far  different  conditions  affecting  national 
prosperity.  For  it  is  through  secondary  education 
that  a  man  is  trained  not  only  to  learn  his  future 
bread-winning  occupation,  but  also  to  fulfil  his 
wider  duties  as  a  citizen.  And  as  we  have  already 
seen,  from  an  educational  point  of  view,  there  is  a 
period  in  the  course  of  general  development  which 
is  occupied  with  the  general  adaptation — intellec- 
tual, moral,  and  physical — to  all  that  composes  the 
modern  environment.  Secondary  education  covers 
the  greater  part  of  this  period.  The  "  special " 
idea,  associated  with  future  bread-winning  occupa- 
tions, belongs  to  a  later  stage. 

We  shall  see  below  that  the  whole  strength  of 
the  German  system,  the  prime  cause  of  its  suc- 
cessful providing  of  true  hearts  and  clear  heads,  is 
to  be  found  in  the  determined  efforts  which  have 
been  made  to  adapt  secondary  education  to  the 
requirements  of  the  natural  development  of  the 
pupil.  Looking  at  the  time-tables  of  the  three 
different  kinds  of  German  secondary  schools,  one 
would  conclude  that  the  framers  of  these  had 
argued  in  somewhat  the  following  manner  :  "  A 
man  has  to  spend  his  life  in  certain  intellectual 
and  moral  surroundings.  From  these  surroundings 
he  must,  to  a  very  large  extent,  derive  his  mental 
and  moral   sustenance,  and  at  the  same  time  he 

48 


Premature  Specialization. 

must  be  able  to  conquer  all  influences  in  them 
which  are  detrimental  to  his  mental  and  moral 
well-being.  It  is,  therefore,  essential  that  he 
should  be  so  educated  that  he  may  be  as  thoroughly 
adapted,  mentally  and  morally,  to  these  surround- 
ings, as  he  must  needs  be  physically.  His  mental 
and  moral  development  must,  therefore,  follow  those 
lines  which  will  lead  him  into  contact,  under  the 
guidance  of  the  educator,  with  all  the  influences 
of  his  future  surroundings.  Let  us,  therefore,  con- 
sider in  what  these  influences  consist,  and  what 
branches  of  knowledge  correspond  to  them.  All 
of  these  branches  must  be  represented  in  the 
secondary  schools,  where  he  spends  not  the  least 
important  portion  of  that  period  during  which 
general  development  takes  place.  If  in  future  life 
he  is  destined  to  be  a  scholar,  and  to  dwell  in 
surroundings  impregnated  with  the  thoughts  and 
learning  of  the  ancients,  he  will  not  on  that  account 
be  cut  off  from  the  influences  of  science  and  of 
modern  thought.  The  secondary  school  must  not, 
therefore,  teach  him  classical  languages  and  litera- 
ture alone.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  he  is  destined 
to  spend  his  life  in  the  surroundings  of  modern 
industry,  where  science  reigns  supreme,  he  will  not 
on  that  account  be  cut  off  from  the  influences  of 
literature,  of  art,  and  of  religion.  The  secondary 
school  must  not,  therefore,  provide  him  merely 
with  instruction  in  science."      The  Germans  have, 

49 


Premature  Specialization. 

consequently,  weighed  the  respective  values  of  the 
different  branches  of  knowledge,  and  determined 
the  influence  which  must  be  allowed  to  each  in 
secondary  studies.  But  it  is  doubtful  whether 
they  would  ever  have  arrived  at  this  appreciation 
of  the  common  features  in  the  surroundings  of 
different  classes  of  men,  if  they  had  not  first  been 
forced  to  recognize  the  common  duties  imposed 
by  nationality.  America,  as  will  be  shown  later 
on,  has  led  in  a  remarkable  degree  to  the  same 
result  by  very  different  causes. 

By  adhering  steadily  to  such  principles — though 
they  may  not  represent  the  final  truth  of  the 
science  of  education — blunders  such  as  we  have 
made  may  be  avoided.  In  our  modern  secondary 
schools  science  has  been  allowed  to  oust  other 
subjects,  on  the  plea  that  they  will  not  be  "  useful  " 
in  industrial  occupations.  Religion  has  been  the 
first  to  go,  and  in  many  secondary  "  Schools  of 
Science,"  under  the  direction  of  the  Science  and 
Art  Department,  it  is  not  taught  at  all.  Men  who 
have  been  trained  in  such  schools  must  find  them- 
selves strangely  out  of  touch  with  their  surround- 
ings, unless  their  parents  have  undertaken  to  make 
good  the  deficiencies  of  their  education.  Again, 
insufficient  time  has  been  given  to  modern  lan- 
guages ;  therefore  the  men  who  have  been  brought 
up  in  these  schools,  have  not  only  been  isolated 
from   the  thoughts  of  foreign   countries,  but  have 

50 


Premature  Specialization. 

found  themselves  seriously  handicapped  if  engaged 
in  commercial  pursuits. 

When  it  is  said  that  the  Science  and  Art  Depart- 
ment is  responsible  for  the  cardinal  error  of  our 
education,  namely,  premature  specialization,  it  is 
not  intended  to  suggest  that  the  fault  is  altogether 
to  be  laid  at  the  door  of  that  office.  It  has  all 
along  acted  up  to  its  lights ;  the  fault  lies  much 
more  with  the  people  and  the  Governments  who 
have  entrusted  the  organization  of  our  modern 
education  to  a  body  created  with  one  special 
object,  and  with  one  special  mission  in  no  way 
directly  concerned  with  secondary  education. 
Again  we  are  brought  back  to  the  common  root 
of  all  such  errors — the  want  of  a  national  feeling 
which  can  alone  produce  a  national  system  of 
education.  Had  there  not  been  this  want,  even 
the  doctrine  of  "utility,"  which  has  found  no 
little  favour  in  English  educational  circles,  might 
have  saved  us  from  many  of  the  faults  which  we 
have  committed. 

A  careful  consideration  of  the  educational 
foundations  of  trade  and  industry  provided  by 
foreign  countries  will  lead  to  the  conviction  that, 
in  those  very  countries  which  are  supposed  by  us 
to  owe  their  success  to  their  schools,  considerations 
of  the  future  occupation  of  a  boy  have  not  been 
allowed  to  weigh  so  much  as  in  England  with 
regard  to  the  choice  of  subjects  for  his  secondary 
5  51 


Premature  Specialization. 

education.  It  would,  therefore,  appear  that  we  are 
wrong  in  asserting  that  Germany,  for  example,  is 
every  year  becoming  a  more  formidable  rival  for 
us  in  trade  and  industry  because  of  her  technical 
education.  This  is  but  a  partial  truth.  We  have 
directed  quite  as  much  attention  to  the  provision 
of  special  education  for  industry  as  Germany,  but 
with  this  difference.  We  have  allowed  this  special 
education  to  commence  in  the  secondary  school, 
whereas  Germany  has  endeavoured  to  postpone  it 
till  after  the  completion  of  secondary  education, 
and  has  succeeded  in  so  far  as  that  national  system 
is  concerned  which  she  has  built  up  under  the 
control  of  the  central  Government.  We,  on  the 
other  hand,  have  allowed  and  encouraged  our 
Government  to  transform  the  modern  "sides"  of 
our  secondary  schools  into  technical  schools  of  a 
more  or  less  specialized  type.  A  large  number  of 
our  old  grammar  schools  found  themselves,  in  the 
latter  half  of  the  century,  without  those  financial 
resources  which  would  enable  them  to  meet  the 
demands  for  secondary  education  of  a  modern,  in 
contrast  to  the  classical,  kind.  The  Government 
decided — with  the  consent  of  the  people  un- 
doubtedly, because  it  was  now  democratic  in  its 
form — that  financial  aid  should  only  be  given  to 
these  schools  by,  or  under  the  regulations  of,  the 
Science  and  Art  Department.  But  this  Depart- 
ment was  only  permitted  by  law  to  aid  technical 

52 


**  Higher  Grade  "  Schools. 

education  ;  consequently  it  could  only  give  financial 
assistance  to  the  grammar  schools  in  consideration 
of  the  technical  education  which  they  provided. 
Unless  we  are  ready  to  admit  that  the  people  and 
their  representatives  in  Parliament  are  strangely 
ignorant  of  the  laws  which  have  been  made  by 
Parliament,  we  must  conclude  that  this  transforma- 
tion of  the  modern  sides  of  our  grammar  schools 
into  technical  schools  was  undertaken  deliberately 
by  the  nation. 

But  while  the  people  and  their  representatives 
in  Parliament  thus  infringed  the  fundamental 
principles  of  education,  the  offices  to  whom  were 
entrusted  the  administration  of  the  Education 
Acts  were  allowed  to  make  confusion  worse  con- 
founded. These  offices  encouraged  school  boards 
to  create,  illegally  as  it  has  recently  been  decided, 
"  higher  grade  "  schools  *  which  offered  technical 
education  of  precisely  the  same  kind  as  that  pro- 
vided by  the  "modern  sides"  of  the  grammar 
schools.  As  a  consequence  there  ensued  a  bitter 
rivalry  between  those  grammar  schools  and  higher 
grade  schools  which  both  conformed  to  the  regu- 
lations of  the  Science  and  Art  Department — a 
rivalry  which  did  not  tend  to  promote  the  interests 

*  This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  "illegality"  of  evenincr 
continuation  schools  supported  by  the  public  rates.  Their 
"illegality"  is  a  fact  which  can  no  longer  be  disputed;  but  it 
points  to  the  extraordinary  neglect  of  Parliament  to  provide  for  all 
necessary  kinds  of  education. 

53 


Reform. 

of  education.  For  these  two  types  of  school  com- 
peted for  pubhc  favour — as  represented  by  the 
grants  of  money  for  technical  instruction — by 
offering  the  greatest  quantity  of  technical  education 
possible.  This,  in  short,  has  been  the  only  work 
of  the  Government  in  support  of  English  secondary 
education. 

We  are  now,  however,  entering  upon  a  period 
of  reform.  In  face  of  external  opposition,  a 
national  feeling  is  slowly  but  surely  springing 
into  existence.  The  popular  appreciation  of  the 
need  for  a  national  system  of  education  was  recently 
expressed  in  the  passing  of  the  Board  of  Education 
Act,  which  aimed  at  creating  an  educational 
Ministry  with  branches  to  preside  over  primary, 
secondary,  and  technical  schools.  All  our  energies 
must  now  be  directed  towards  the  organization  of 
our  secondary  education.  Until  we  provide  in 
the  secondary  sphere  a  broad  general  basis  of 
instruction,  we  cannot  expect  to  train  our  com- 
mercial and  industrial  leaders  so  that  they  shall 
be  equal  to  those  of  our  foremost  foreign  rivals. 
Our  older  universities  have  had  the  opportunity 
of  reforming  our  secondary  schools,  and  have 
refused  it.  The  task  must  now  be  undertaken 
by  the  people  themselves,  represented  by  local 
authorities  under  the  guidance  of  an  enlightened 
central  government.  It  will  probably  be  by 
pressure  from  below  that  the  universities  will  be 

54 


Foreign  Educational  Systems — 

compelled  to  recognize  that  a  spirit  of  conservatism, 
ever  lagging  behind  in  the  march  of  progress, 
cannot  offer  a  healthy  educational  influence  for 
those  who  have  to  contend  against  the  modern, 
culture  of  foreign  nations.  Already  there  is  a 
widespread  feehng  that  Oxford  and  Cambridge 
bring  influences  to  bear  on  the  sons  of  the  men 
of  industry  and  commerce  which  disqualify  them 
for  the  occupations  of  their  fathers.  Such  men, 
therefore,  turn  to  the  newer  universities  which  are 
springing  up  in  different  parts  of  the  land.  The 
great  danger  is  that  these  may  go  to  the  other 
extreme,  and  ignore  that  spirit  of  culture  which 
proceeds  from  the  moral  and  aesthetic  ideals  of  the 
human  race.  Will  it  also  be  pressure  from  below 
which  will  come  to  save  these  newer  universities 
from  these  dangers  which  beset  them  ? 

The  increasing  attention  which  is  paid  in  this 
country  to  foreign  systems  of  education,  must  give 
rise  to  some  misgiving,  though,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  may  be  regarded  as  a  hopeful  sign.  How  com- 
plicated is  the  study  of  foreign  systems,  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  our  system  of  technical  education 
was  professedly  designed  in  imitation  of  that  of 
Germany  ;  and  yet  no  two  systems  could  be  more 
utterly  different.  To  such  an  extent  have  we  been 
misled  by  those  who  have  pretended  to  a  knowledge 
of  German  education.  Among  these  many  of  the 
Germans  themselves  who  are  our  welcome  guests, 

55 


And  their  Exponents. 

are  most  to  be  mistrusted.  Often  they  ingenuously 
describe  to  us  the  systems  of  their  youth,  forgetting 
that  the  Fatherland  has  also  grown  older  and 
wiser  since  they  left  its  shores.  Many  earnest 
members  of  school  boards,  speaking  little  French 
and  less  German,  after  a  too  short  visit  to  foreign 
countries,  have  returned  to  extol  the  virtues  of 
foreign  schools  to  their  admiring  fellow-citizens. 
But  imitation  of  foreign  countries  will  never  help 
us  to  build  up  a  national  system  of  education. 
The  first  thing  we  learn  from  a  careful  comparative 
study  of  foreign  schools  is  that  each  nation  must 
build  up  the  educational  system  best  suited  to  its 
own  requirements,  and  best  adapted  to  the  natural 
genius  of  its  people.  When  once  this  fact  has 
been  firmly  grasped,  we  may  learn  much  if  we 
ponder  the  causes  which  have  produced  sharp 
contrasts  or  striking  similarities  among  the  systems 
of  the  four  great  nations  in  the  van  of  modern 
civilization.  The  succeeding  chapters  have  been 
written  in  the  hope  that  they  may  throw  some 
light  on  this  phase  of  the  subject. 


56 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    FOUNDATIONS   LAID   BY   GERMAN 
GOVERNMENT. 

It  has  been  remarked,  in  a  preceding  chapter, 
that  the  Prussian  organization  of  education  has 
been  the  model  for  most  of  the  other  German 
States,  whose  systems  have  been,  during  the  last 
century,  and  still  appear  to  be,  assimilating  them- 
selves to  that  of  Prussia.  To  thoroughly  appre- 
ciate this  fact,  it  is  necessary  to  understand  the 
causes  which  have  led  Germany  to  accept  Prussia 
as  her  head  and  leader.  No  more  than  a  very 
brief  outline  of  these  causes  can  be  given  here. 

By  the  peace  of  Westphalia,  in  1648,  the  dis- 
union of  Germany  was  formally  consecrated  for 
the  benefit  of  France,  who  henceforth  became  the 
dominant  power  in  Europe.  The  old  Empire  now 
became  a  medley  of  States  under  independent  rulers, 
owing,  nominally,  allegiance  to  an  Emperor  who 
was  in  reality  nothing  more  than  the  head  of  the 
Austrian  Monarchy.  The  rulers  of  these  States, 
who  revelled  in  their  independence,  were  encouraged 
by  France   to    accept   her    protection   against   all 

57 


The  Making  of  Modern  Germany. 

interference  from  their  nominal  head.  We  have, 
therefore,  on  the  one  hand,  Austria,  endeavouring 
to  bring  these  States  into  an  Empire  which  should 
be  more  than  a  mere  name,  and  over  which  she 
should  preside  ;  on  the  other,  France,  who,  having 
by  her  clever  diplomacy  and  the  assistance  of  her 
arms  brought  about  the  disruption  of  the  old 
Empire,  was  determined  that  it  should  not  be  al- 
lowed again  to  become  an  obstacle  to  her  ambitions 
as  arbiter  of  the  destinies  of  Europe. 

About  this  time  a  rival  to  Austria  began  to  rise 
into  prominence :  the  Prussian  Monarchy  now 
commenced  to  extend  its  borders,  and  to  aspire 
to  the  headship  of  Germany.  Prussia  had,  indeed, 
one  advantage  which  Austria  did  not  possess,  for 
she  was  exclusively  German  in  her  interests,  while 
Austria  was  composed  of  peoples  only  a  part  of 
whom  were  German.  The  situation  was,  therefore, 
briefly  this.  Prussia,  with  a  better  claim  than 
Austria,  was  attempting  to  build  up  a  new  German 
Empire  under  her  direction.  Austria  naturally 
opposed  this  attempt.  France  naturally  found  it 
to  her  interest  to  resist  any  endeavour  to  restore 
German  unity,  whether  under  Prussia  or  Austria. 
Besides  these  three  parties  in  the  game,  there  is 
also  a  fourth  to  be  considered,  namely,  the  inde- 
pendent German  States,  whose  rulers  were  anxious 
to  maintain  their  independence  at  all  costs  and  by 
whatever  means. 

58 


The  Making  of  Modern  Germany. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
France,  under  the  leadership  of  Napoleon,  subdued 
the  three  other  parties — Austria,  Prussia,  and  the 
independent  States.  In  the  struggle  that  followed, 
so  great  was  the  mutual  distrust  of  Prussia  and  Aus- 
tria, that  they  were  unable  to  co-operate  against  the 
common  enemy ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  Prussian 
people  revolted  against  the  indignities  heaped  upon 
them  by  the  French,  that  Prussia  threw  in  her  lot 
with  the  enemies  of  Napoleon.  The  present  Prus- 
sian system  of  education  may  be  said  to  be  popular, 
in  that  its  foundations  were  laid  in  the  national 
feeling  which  was  aroused  at  this  time  by  French 
opposition.  It  was  at  this  moment,  when  the 
Prussian  people  were  aroused  to  the  need  of 
national  reconstruction,  and  statesmen  worthy  in 
every  way  to  give  practical  effect  to  the  popular 
will  had  arisen,  that  the  value  of  national  education 
was  for  the  first  time  properly  appreciated.  The 
spirit  which  was  then  breathed  into  the  Prussian 
system  of  education  is  not  yet  dead,  for  later  events 
have  tended  to  keep  it  alive. 

When  Napoleon  was  finally  overthrown,  the 
hostility  between  Austria  and  Prussia  again  ap- 
peared at  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  which  met  to 
restore  the  balance  of  Europe.  The  rulers  of  the 
independent  States,  who  had  for  the  most  part 
fought  on  the  side  of  Napoleon,  were  still  opposed 
to  any  restoration  of  the  German  Empire.    France 

59 


The  Making  of  Modern  Germany. 

and  Austria,  taking  advantage  of  this  feeling,  and 
also  of  the  inability  of  the  King  of  Prussia  to 
appreciate  the  aims  and  ideals  of  the  Prussian 
patriots,  now  again  succeeded  in  throwing  in- 
superable obstacles  in  the  way  of  German  unity 
under  the  leadership  of  Prussia. 

When  the  people  of  Germany  realized  how  their 
wishes  had  been  disregarded  by  their  rulers,  and 
how  the  great  wars  had  merely  resulted  in  a  new 
assertion  of  prerogatives  and  a  fresh  ignoring  of 
their  rights,  a  strong  tendency  towards  liberalism 
set  in  among  them.  In  1848,  when  the  great  revo- 
lutionary wave  swept  over  Europe,  this  feeling  took 
practical  effect.  "  The  Germans  of  those  days  might 
have  called  themselves  Liberal-Unionists.  They 
were  Liberals  because  they  had  been  overdosed  with 
divine  rights,  and  Unionists  because  they  wanted 
to  be  a  nation.  There  were  between  thirty 
and  forty  divine  rights  in  the  country,  each  of 
them  endued  with  authority,  or,  as  it  was  called, 
sovereignty,  over  a  region  large  or  small,  the 
largest  being  the  kingdom  of  Prussia,  and  the 
others  of  various  sizes  down  to  little  duchies 
like  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha."  *  The  first  national 
Parliament  of  Germany  assembled  at  Frankfort 
in  response  to  this  outburst  of  feeling.  This  Parlia- 
ment made  a  constitution,  settled  the  boundaries 
of  the  proposed  Empire — leaving  Austria  outside — - 

*  Spenser  Wilkinson,  "The  Great  Alternative,"  p.  53. 
60 


The  Making  of  Modern  Germany. 

and  elected  as  Emperor,  Frederick  William  IV., 
King  of  Prussia.  Austria  being  joined  by  Russia 
in  her  opposition  to  this  scheme,  Prussia  declined 
the  dangerous  honour  of  presiding  over  the  sug- 
gested constitutional  Empire. 

This  Parliament  did,  however,  achieve  some- 
thing, in  that  it  formally  pointed  to  Prussia  as  the 
natural  leader  of  the  German  nation.  Thus  had 
the  people,  who  at  the  bei^inning  of  the  century 
had  recognized  only  an  intellectual  and  aesthetic 
metropolis,  now  at  last  come  to  perceive  the 
necessity  of  a  political  capital  where  would  be 
centred  all  the  forces  proceeding  from  the  common 
national  sympathies  and  antipathies.  Weimar, 
where  Goethe  and  Schiller  had  presided  over  the 
consolidation  of  the  intellectual  Empire  of  Ger- 
many, was  now  to  be  replaced  by  Berlin,  where 
Bismarck  was,  by  his  diplomacy,  directing  all 
political  tendencies  towards  one  definite  aim. 

The  overthrow  of  Austria,  and  of  the  rulers  of  in- 
dependent German  States  who  were  still  opposed 
to  unity,  in  1866,  left  France  as  the  only  enemy  to 
the  establishment  of  a  German  Empire.  The  war 
of  1870  not  only  destroyed  the  opposition  of 
France,  but  further  consolidated  German  unity  by 
restoring  to  the  newly  founded  Empire  territories 
which  had  been  stolen  by  the  French  in  time  of 
peace. 

It  was  such  success  as  this  which  first  recom- 
61 


The  Making  of  Modern  Germany. 

mended  the  educational  system  of  Prussia  to  the 
rest  of  Germany.  An  English  writer  has  already 
been  quoted  as  stating  that  Prussia  deserved  the 
position  at  the  head  of  Germany,  which  she  won 
in  1866,  and  maintained  in  1870;  for  she  had 
learnt  that  the  requisites  to  national  regeneration 
were  true  hearts  and  clear  heads.  And,  con- 
tinuing, he  says — 

"An  army  under  the  command  of  genuine 
leaders  is  a  good  school  of  duty  ;  and,  in  the  hand 
of  Scharnhorst  and  his  companions,  the  Prussian 
army  taught  one  generation  of  Germans  to  obey, 
to  endure,  and  to  die.  Stein  and  Hardenberg  re- 
shaped a  number  of  institutions  with  a  view  to 
bind  rich  and  poor  together  in  the  bonds  of  a 
common  welfare.  Fichte,  W.  Humboldt,  Niebuhr, 
and  their  fellows  strengthened  the  foundations  of 
that  part  of  education  which  is  given  by  the  school 
and  the  university.  The  aim  was  not  to  give  every 
man  the  whole  of  knowledge,  but  to  give  each  man 
the  particular  knowledge  necessary  to  enable  him 
to  do  his  particular  life's  work,  as  well  as  the 
general  knowledge  required  to  make  a  good 
ciiizen. 

"  From  this  ideal  resulted  a  public  school  system 
which,  in  spite  of  faults,  made  the  Prussians  the 
people  among  whom  the  general  knowledge  con- 
veyed by  prniiary  and  secondary  instruction  was 
most  widely  spread  and  most  fully  developed,  .  .  . 
The  system  aimed  at  quality,  not  quantity.  Each 
student  was  trained  to  spontaneous  effort,  and 
taught  a  method,  and  he  became  himself  an  active 
searcher,  seeking  to  enlarge  the  bounds  of  know- 
ledge   in    the    particular    region    which    he    had 

62 


The  Making  of  Modern  Germany. 

entered.  Thus,  for  every  career  in  which  know- 
ledge is  an  element  of  success,  there  were  Prussians 
better  equipped  than  most  of  their  competitors  in 
other  countries.  In  the  army  and  all  branches  of 
the  public  service  the  professional  knowledge 
gradually  came  to  be  the  indispensable  condition 
of  advancement.  The  universities  became  genuine 
fountains  of  knowledge,  corporations  organized  to 
acquire  and  to  spread  a  deeper  insight  into  nature 
and  human  life  than  had  existed  before.  A 
generation  of  German  teachers  became  the  teachers 
of  their  class  all  over  the  world.  Until  a  few  years 
ago,  university  professors  outside  Germany  were 
little  more  than  the  channels  through  which  the 
teaching  of  the  German  masters  found  its  way 
more  or  less  diluted,  to  the  pupils." 

There  are  two  points  which  are  particularly 
worthy  of  notice  in  connection  with  the  reorganiza- 
tion of  Prussian  education  between  i8o8  and  1818. 
The  first  is  that  W.  von  Humboldt,  who  was  the 
first  head  of  the  reorganized  education  department, 
was  a  man  who  had  formerly  been  strongly  opposed 
to  all  State  interference  in  education.  Events  had 
taught  him,  however,  as  only  such  events  as  he 
had  witnessed  can  teach,  that  the  State  must 
undertake  to  provide  proper  schools,  suitable  in- 
struction, and,  what  is  still  more  difficult,  effective 
methods  of  education  for  the  people.  And  this 
brings  us  to  the  second  point.  It  was  not  know- 
ledge alone  that  was  necessary  to  make  the  people 
who  had  been  defeated  at  Jena  into  a  nation, 
strong   to  resist  one   of  the    most  powerful  foes 

63 


The  Making  of  Modern  Germany. 

which  the  world  had  seen,  and  able  to  recover  from 
the  state  to  which  they  had  been  reduced. 

Something,  it  is  true,  could  be  done  by  political 
enactments,  freeing  the  people  from  burdens  and 
restrictions  imposed  on  them  in  the  interests  of  the 
ruling  classes.  But  more  than  this  was  necessary. 
The  Government  had  in  the  past  been  merely  an 
institution  for  maintaining  the  ruling  dynasty  and 
the  officials  dependent  upon  it  From  the  people 
it  demanded  obedience  and  a  mechanical  per- 
formance of  duty.  The  shock  with  the  armies  of 
Napoleon  taught  Prussia  that  even  in  war  the 
strength  of  the  conqueror  does  not  consist  merely 
in  the  obedience  of  the  forces  which  he  commands. 
Military  writers  are  inclined  to  overlook  the  fact 
that  the  genius  of  Napoleon  could  not  have 
defeated  the  greatest  armies  of  Europe,  had  it 
not  been  served  by  the  spirit  of  freedom  and  the 
enthusiasm  of  individual  responsibility  which  the 
French  Revolution  had  sown  in  the  breasts  of  his 
soldiers.  The  Prussian  statesmen  of  that  time, 
however,  perceived  this  fact ;  and  the  greatest  of 
them.  Stein,  recognized  that  the  work  of  education, 
which  had  now  to  be  undertaken  by  the  State,  must 
not  be  directed  towards  the  inculcation  of  passive 
obedience,  but  rather  towards  the  fostering  of  self- 
activity  and  self-reliance  among  the  people  to 
whom  they  looked  for  the  regeneration  of  the 
nation.     So  that,  at  what  may  be  considered   the 

64 


Pestalozzi. 

initiation  of  the  State  control  of  the  modern 
German  educational  system,  considerations  of 
method — of  the  meaning  and  aim  of  education 
itself,  rather  than  of  its  outward  form  or  the  field 
of  knowledge  which  it  was  to  command — were 
forced  upon  the  officials  to  whom  this  control  was 
committed.  This  is  a  necessity  to  which  such 
officials  have  never  yet  been  reduced  in  England. 

The  method  of  education  needed  was  ready  to 
the  hand  of  the  organizers  of  the  Prussian  system. 
Amidst  the  din  of  battles  and  the  fall  of  kingdoms, 
the  son  of  a  Zurich  doctor  had  been  trying  educa- 
tional experiments,  one  after  the  other  of  which 
had  proved  a  financial  failure.  An  unpractical 
idealist  he  seemed  to  many ;  and  yet  his  loving 
devotion  to  the  poor  and  oppressed,  his  persever- 
ance in  spite  of  failure  and  innumerable  disappoint- 
ments, won  for  him  ultimately  such  worship  from 
all  classes  of  society  as  is  rarely  vouchsafed  to 
man.  The  most  distinguished  people  of  the  time 
travelled  far  to  see  him,  and  to  express  their 
admiration  for  all  he  had  done  to  educate  the 
destitute  and  helpless.  The  one  person  who  is 
said  to  have  turned  from  Pestalozzi  with  the  remark 
that  there  were  more  important  things  than  the 
learning  of  the  A, B.C.,  was  Napoleon.  And  yet 
there  was  probably  no  man  who  did  more  to 
remove  the  traces  of  Napoleon's  work  in  Germany 
than  Pestalozzi. 

65 


Pestalozzi. 

The  whole  of  Pestalozzi's  life  was  spent  in  an 
active  protest  against  all  that  was  dead  and 
mechanical  in  the  educational  methods  of  his 
time — methods  which  are  unfortunately  still  too 
common.  The  mere  teaching  of  words,  as  opposed 
to  things  ;  the  presenting  to  the  child  of  "  a  crowd 
of  ready-made  judgments,  which  he  may  hold  in 
his  memory,  but  which  leave  his  power  of  thinking 
inactive,  and  tend  even  to  paralyze  it";  that 
instruction  which  is  based  on  the  passive  obedience 
of  the  pupil,  and  commands  his  acceptance  on 
authority  of  what  he  cannot  understand,  this  it 
was  that  Pestalozzi  considered  most  harmful  in  the 
existing  methods  of  education.  To  him  the  child 
was  a  living,  active  being,  whose  development, 
whether  physical,  mental,  or  moral,  followed  a 
certain  natural  course.  "Man  develops  the  fun- 
damental elements  of  life,  i.e.  his  love  and  faith,  by 
the  exercise  of  love  and  faith  ;  those  of  his  intel- 
lectual life,  that  is  his  thought,  by  the  exercise  of 
his  thought ;  those  of  his  practical  or  industrial  life, 
that  is  the  power  of  his  organs  and  his  muscles,  by 
the  exercise  of  this  power.  Man  is  urged  by  the 
very  nature  of  the  forces  within  him  to  employ 
them,  exercise  them,  give  them  all  the  develop- 
ment, all  the  perfection,  of  which  they  are  capable." 
And  it  is  this  self-activity  which,  according  to  him, 
should  form  the  basis  of  all  education. 

Pestalozzi  maybe  said  to  have  founded  technical 
-       66 


Pestalozzi. 

education,  in  that  he  insisted  that  practical  skill  was 
one  of  the  necessary  acquirements  of  education.  He 
maintained,  however,  that  practical  skill  presup- 
posed intellectual  training,  without  which  it  could 
not  be  successful.  Above  all,  what  he  sought  to 
form,  were  men  fully  developed  ;  free,  and  worthy 
to  enjoy  freedom  ;  self-active,  and  employing  their 
self-activity  in  the  realization  of  their  own  highest 
capacities,  for  the  good  of  themselves  and  those 
fellow-citizens  to  whom  they  were  united  by  the 
bonds  of  love  and  a  common  responsibility  to  their 
country.  Such,  in  brief,  was  the  theory  of  educa- 
tion which  the  founders  of  the  modern  German 
system  found  ready  to  their  hands.  They  adopted 
it,  and,  thanks  to  it,  they  built  up  a  nation  of  self- 
dependent  men  strong  in  their  self-activity. 

It  is  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  benefit  it  was 
to  Prussia  to  be  obliged,  at  the  outset,  to  consider 
methods  rather  than  the  outward  form  of  education. 
Had  it  not  been  for  national  disaster  this  might 
never  have  been  necessary.  It  may  be  said  that 
the  effects  of  this  are  still  felt,  and  in  every 
German  school,  in  every  meeting  of  German 
teachers,  there  is  an  appreciation  of  the  higher 
aims  and  purposes  of  education  which  we  do  not 
commonly  find  in  England.  When  we  first  estab- 
lished a  system  of  education  for  the  children  of  the 
poorer  classes,  we  were  not  urged  on  by  any  need 
for  national  regeneration  ;  we  were  not  reduced  to 
6  ^'j 


Quality  before  Quantity. 

a  position  where  it  was  imperative  that  we  should 
reconsider  the  foundations  of  our  national  strength, 
and  use  every  means  in  our  power  to  restore 
it  to  heights  from  which  it  had  been  cast  down. 
We  were  merely  forced  by  the  final  establishment 
of  democracy,  as  our  form  of  government,  to  see 
that  the  lower  classes  learned  to  read  and  to  write, 
and  to  calculate.  And  it  must  be  admitted — not 
without  feelings  of  humiliation — that  until  the  end 
of  last  century  in  England  the  State  was  chiefly 
occupied  in  providing  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
education,  a  sufficient  number  of  "school  places," 
and  paid  but  little  attention  to  the  quality  of  its 
education,  regarding  methods  of  instruction  and 
educational  theories  as  fit  only  for  the  contempla- 
tion of  faddists  or  enthusiasts. 

The  science  of  education  founded  by  Pestalozzi 
was  not  certainly  complete  or  final,  and  it  was  not 
accepted  as  such  by  the  educational  reformers 
whom  Prussia  employed  at  the  beginning  of  the 
century  to  restore  her  fallen  fortunes.  But  it  was 
a  science,  and  it  did  offer  a  basis  on  which  might 
be  gradually  built  up  the  true  science.  It  ensured, 
therefore,  methodical  progress :  not  the  mere 
haphazard  adoption  of  methods  or  subjects  of 
instruction  in  obedience  to  a  passing  whim  or  an 
ephemeral  need,  but  the  thoughtful  fitting  in  of 
subjects  into  a  well-organized  scheme,  and  the 
careful  readaptation  of  methods  of  teaching  to  the 

68 


Quality  before  Quantity. 

ever-new  discoveries  of  educational  science.  And 
it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  in  connection  with  the  State 
control  of  education  in  Prussia,  that,  as  that  control 
has  increased,  there  has  at  the  same  time  been  an 
increasing  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  State  to 
demand  the  best  expert  opinion  on  proposed 
changes.  Each  far-reaching  and  important  change 
has  been  preceded  by  a  conference  of  experts, 
representative  of  all  shades  of  opinion.  In  short, 
we  may  say  that  educational  progress  in  Prussia 
has  been  evolutionary,  rather  than  revolutionary, 
in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  term  ;  whereas  the 
best  defence  that  can  be  made  for  corresponding 
progress  in  England  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact 
that  it  has  followed  a  process  of  broadening 
down  from  precedent  to  precedent,  a  formula 
which  is  conveniently  adaptable  to  any  course  of 
progress,  however  irregular,  and  however  defective, 
so  long  as  it  is  not  marked  by  any  extraordinary 
energy  or  vitality,  and  never  gives  evidence  of 
revolutionary  tendencies. 

Too  much  emphasis  cannot  be  laid  on  the  fact 
that  Pestalozzi  ignored  social  distinctions  in  his 
educational  system.  Consequently,  in  such  a 
country  as  Germany,  his  opinions  might  not  have 
had  great  weight  had  he  not  had  the  good  fortune 
to    preach    in    a    time     of    national     adversity.* 

*  Though  the  work  of  Herbart,  which  may  be  said  to  have 
supplemented  that  of  Pestalozzi,  cannot  be  considered  here,  its 
importance  cannot  be  overrated. 

69 


Social  Prejudices. 

Educational  reformers  find  their  strongest 
opponents  in  those  classes  of  society  who  owe 
their  position  and  their  raiso?t  d'etre  to  tradition. 
And  it  is  always  to  these  classes  that  the  sup- 
porters of  old-fashioned  and  discredited  educational 
theories  turn  for  support.  In  England,  we  know 
how  cleverly  social  prejudices  have  been  pressed 
into  the  service  of  educational  conservatism.  Often 
the  question  of  classical  versus  modern  education 
has  been  fought  out  on  the  argument  that  Latin 
is  essential  to  the  education  of  a  gentleman  ;  and 
thus  infinite  damage  has  been  done  to  the  cause 
of  classical  education  itself,  by  leading  the  most 
influential  persons  to  overlook  the  true  issues 
at  stake.  We  find  somewhat  the  same  thing 
happening  in  Germany,  whenever  the  external 
pressure  from  other  nations  has  temporarily 
subsided,  and  the  national  aim  has  no  longer 
overshadowed  all  others.  But,  fortunately  for 
Prussia,  this  was  not  the  case  during  the  years 
devoted  to  the  foundation  of  her  educational 
system. 

Nothing  can  be  more  instructive  for  the  purpose 
in  hand — that  of  a  comparative  study  of  the 
education  of  the  men  of  industry  and  commerce 
in  different  countries — than  to  glance  at  the 
development  of  the  Prussian  Realschulen,  the 
schools  that  now  fill  the  place  which  our  modern 
secondary  schools  are  supposed  to  occupy  in  our 

70 


The  Realschulen. 

own  educational  system.  At  the  end  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  Francke  remarked  :  "  The  man  who 
does  not  take  up  classical  studies  has,  nevertheless, 
a  need  of  knowing  the  principles  of  astronomy, 
geography,  physics,  and  history,  and  of  everything 
connected  with  the  government  of  his  country,  if 
he  wishes  to  become  an  intelligent  man,  and  of 
use  to  the  Commonwealth."  In  1706,  Christoph 
Semler  opened  a  mathematical  and  mechanical 
Realschule  in  Halle.  His  object  was  not  the 
same  as  that  by  which  Dr.  Birkbeck  was  guided 
nearly  one  hundred  years  later  ;  he  did  not 
propose  to  instruct  uneducated  adults  in  the 
scientific  principles  underlying  trade  or  industry. 
In  this  school  a  teacher  explained  to  poor  children, 
for  an  hour  every  afternoon,  the  principles  of 
handicraft  and  manufacture.  In  1738,  the  school 
was  restarted  on  a  wider  basis,  and  some  slight 
opportunities  were  given  to  the  children  of  the 
upper  classes  also  to  attend  these  lessons.  In 
1747,  Julius  Hecker  started  a  Realschule  in  Berlin, 
which  may,  from  its  objects  and  its  organization, 
be  regarded  as  the  true  parent  of  all  schools  of 
the  same  type.  He  had  for  long  been  occupied 
with  attempts  to  improve  the  elementary  schools 
in  his  district  ;  he  then  turned  his  attention  to 
the  foundation  of  a  secondary  school  for  the 
children  of  the  cultivated  middle  classes.  His 
foremost   idea   seems   to    have    been    to   provide 

71 


The  Realschulen. 

general  culture,  and  the  technical  training  which 
his  school  offered  seems  to  have  occupied  quite 
a  secondary  place.  The  subjects  of  instruction 
were :  Religion,  German,  Latin,  French,  Writing, 
Arithmetic,  Drawing,  History,  Geography,  Moral 
Instruction,  and  the  Elements  of  Geometry,  Me- 
chanics, and  Architecture.  The  success  of  the 
school  surpassed  all  expectations.  In  1762,  the 
number  of  pupils  attending  the  institution  was 
1095,  of  whom  91  were  boarders  and  300  free 
scholars.  Perhaps  the  most  important  part  which 
it  played  in  the  promotion  of  the  Realschule  idea 
was  by  the  establishment  of  a  training  college  for 
village  teachers,  which  received  the  royal  patron- 
age and  a  Government  subsidy,  and  from  which 
a  number  of  trained  teachers  went  forth  to  spread 
the  new  idea.  Frederick  II.  built  up  his  Royal 
Realschule  on  the  private  and  voluntary  efforts 
of  Hecker  and  his  successor.  A  number  of  similar 
schools  were  soon  established  in  different  parts 
of  Prussia  and  Germany. 

It  is  impossible  here  to  trace  through  all  its 
vicissitudes  the  history  of  the  Realschulen.*  These 
schools  appear  to  have  appealed  particularly  to 
those  classes  of  the  people  whose  interests  seemed 
to  clash  with  those  of  the  higher  ranks  of  society. 
So   that,    in     1S48,    when    the    revolutionary    and 

*  I  have  used  the  German  forms  Realschulen,  Gymnasien,  etc., 
rather  than  Anglicized  plurals  of  German  words. 

72 


The  Realschulen. 

democratic  wave  sweeping  over  Europe  spread  to 
Prussia,  we  find  considerable  efforts  being  made 
to  procure  for  this  modern  type  of  school  the 
same  privileges  as  were  possessed  by  the  classical 
Gymnasium.  But,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  brief 
review  of  the  history  of  Prussia,  the  effect  of  the 
revolutionary  feeling  of  this  epoch  was  to  create 
a  desire  in  Germany  for  unity  on  a  liberal  and 
constitutional  basis  under  the  leadership  of  Prussia. 
When,  however,  Prussia  hesitated  to  accept  the 
leadership  on  the  liberal  conditions  imposed  by 
the  rest  of  Germany  the  whole  scheme  broke 
down,  and  for  a  time  a  natural  reaction  followed. 
During  this  period  the  Realschulen  fared  ill.  It 
was  not  until  Prince  William  (afterwards  the  first 
Emperor  of  the  new  Germany)  became  Regent 
in  1858  that  Prussia  again  placed  national  con- 
siderations before  all  others. 

In  1859  the  State  definitely  assumed  responsi- 
bility for  the  Realschulen,  and  official  programmes 
were  published.  Three  grades  of  these  schools 
were  recognized,  the  first  having  an  eight  years' 
course  with  Latin,  the  second  a  seven  years'  course 
without  Latin,  and  the  third  a  six  years'  course 
without  Latin.  The  programme  of  the  schools  of 
the  first  grade  was  as  follows  : — 


73 


The  Realschulen. 


VI. 

V. 

IV. 
2 

3 
6 

5 
4 

2 

6 

2 
2 

32 

III. 
2 

3 
5 
4 
4 
4 

2 

6 
2 

32 

II.* 

2 

3 
4 
4 
3 
3 
6 

5 

2 
32 

I.* 

Religion 

Mother  tongue 

Latin 

3 

4 
8 

3 

2 

5 

3 

2 

3° 

3 
4 
6 

5 
3 

2 

4 

2 

2 

31 

2 

3 

French 

J 

English 

Geography  and  History 

Natural  Science 

3 
3 
6 

5 

Mathematics  and  Arithmetic  . 
Writing 

3 

32 

The  lowest  grade  of  these  schools,  with  only  a 
six  years'  course,  and  without  Latin,  seems  origi- 
nally to  have  been  intended  to  be  a  sort  of  higher 
primary  school.  It  is  interesting  to  observe  that 
all  three  grades  were  declared  officially  "  to  possess 
a  common  aim — that  of  assuring  a  general  scien- 
tific preparation  for  those  vocations  for  which 
university  studies  were  not  requisite."  It  is  also 
worthy  of  notice  that  Latin  was  retained  in  the 
highest  of  these  three  grades,  "  not  only  because 
of  its  importance  as  leading  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  relations  between  modern  civilization  and  an- 
tiquity, but,  above  all.  for  its  undeniable  utility  in 
the  study  of  modern  languages,  which  can  only  be 


*  Two  years  were  spent  in  each  of  these  classes.  It  may  be 
mentioned  here,  once  for  all,  that  in  practically  all  foreign  schools 
one  year  is  spent  in  each  class.  The  advantage  of  this  arrangement 
over  that  common  in  England  is  self-evident. 

74. 


The  Realschulen. 

learned  superficially  unless  supplemented  by  the 
study  of  Latin."  And,  further,  as  showing  the 
kind  of  educational  spirit  by  which  the  Prussian 
Government  was  moved,  the  following  words  may 
be  noted,  offering  an  official  explanation  of  the 
lines  on  which  the  new  programmes  had  been 
designed  :  "  To  insure  thoroughness  and  a  proper 
assimilation  of  knowledge,  it  is  essential  that  one's 
efforts  should  be  confined  within  certain  fixed 
limits.  The  science  of  education  is  always  rein- 
forcing the  truth  of  this  experience  :  that  when  seed 
is  sown  too  thickly  the  field  is  less  productive."  But 
it  must  not  be  imagined  that  when  the  Realschulen 
were  once  finally  established  by  Government  the 
fight  was  won.  This  event  merely  marked  the 
commencement  of  an  organized  agitation  in  favour 
of  granting  the  same  privileges  to  the  new  educa- 
tion as  were  already  possessed  by  the  old.  Pupils 
obtaining  the  leaving  certificate  of  a  gymnasium 
were  admitted  to  the  universities  and  all  higher 
institutions ;  those  holding  a  similar  certificate 
from  the  Realschulen  obtained  little  more  than  a 
reduction  of  the  years  of  compulsory  military 
service.  In  1869,  the  ministry  of  education  con- 
sulted the  universities  as  to  whether  they  would 
grant  full  privileges  to  the  pupils  of  the  Real- 
schulen ;  when  they  replied  in  the  negative,  the 
Government  took  the  matter  into  its  own  hands, 
and  threw  open  to  the  pupils  of  the  highest  grade 

75 


The  Realschulen. 

of  Realschulen  *  the  philosophical  faculty  of  the 
university,  and  admitted  them  to  the  examinations 
for  teachers  of  mathematics,  natural  science,  and 
modern  languages. 

The  next  great  reform  took  place  in  1882.  The 
programmes  for  the  classical  Gymnasien  under- 
went considerable  modification  in  a  modern  direc- 
tion. The  hours  devoted  to  Latin  and  Greek  were 
reduced,  and  greater  time  was  allotted  to  French, 
mathematics,  history,  and  science.  The  system  of 
Realschulen  was  remodelled  :  the  highest  grade,  in 
which  Latin  was  taught,  now  received  the  name  of 
Real-gymnasium,  and  its  course  was  lengthened  to 
nine  years.  The  lower  grade  was  combined  with 
an  existing  type  of  technical  school  to  form  what 
was  called  the  Ober-Realschule,  a  modern  secon- 
dary school,  also  with  a  nine  years'  course,  but  with- 
out Latin.  The  Realschule  with  the  six  years' 
course  now  finally  became  a  secondary  school, 
and  threw  off  all  higher  primary  tendencies.  It 
was  considered  not  as  a  crowning  to  the  primary 
system,  but  as  providing  the  irreducible  minimum 
of  secondary  education  for  those  who  could  not 
afford  a  nine  years'  course.  It  adopted  the  pro- 
gramme of  the  lower  classes  of  the  Ober-Real- 
schule, and  thus  formed  an  integral  part  of  the 
secondary  system.     Too    much   emphasis    cannot 

*  Corresponding  to  the  present  Realgymnasium  as  described  in 
the  succeeding  paragraph. 

76 


Conference  of  Experts. 

be  laid  on  this  principle,  which  should  be  com- 
pared with  that  guiding  the  development  of  the 
higher  primary  schools  of  France  (cf.  p.  162  et  sgq.). 

The  next  great  reform  took  place  in  1892.  The 
present  Emperor  stated,  in  a  Royal  proclamation 
issued  in  1889,  that  he  had  for  a  long  time  been 
occupied  with  the  problem  of  how  to  make  the 
school  useful  for  the  purpose  of  counteracting  the 
spread  of  socialistic  and  communistic  ideas.  In  the 
same  year  a  decree  was  issued  directing  modifica- 
tions in  the  historical  teaching  in  the  State  schools. 
In  1890,  a  conference  was  summoned  to  consider 
certain  changes,  mostly  of  a  modernizing  and  anti- 
classical  nature,  which  the  Emperor  advocated  for 
Prussian  secondary  schools.  The  composition  of 
this  conference  is  instructive.  Of  the  forty-three 
members  summoned,  two  were  factory  owners,  one 
was  a  medical  man,  and  five  were  representatives 
of  the  clergy  ;  thirty-six  were  actually  engaged  in 
teaching,  or  held  public  educational  positions, 
proving  that  they  had  formerly  distinguished  them- 
selves in  the  scholastic  profession.  The  Emperor 
opened  this  conference  in  a  characteristic  speech, 
in  which  he  dealt  with  the  important  questions  to  be 
decided.  The  conclusions  of  this  conference  were 
ultimately  embodied  in  the  official  "  curricula  and 
programmes  for  the  secondary  schools  of  Prussia." 

Before  entering  into  any  details  as  to  the  changes 
which  were   now  made,  a  few  considerations  may 

77 


The  Kaiser  and  the  Schools. 

not  be  out  of  place  as  to  the  methods  adopted 
on  this  occasion  by  the  Prussian  Government 
for  reforming  the  schools  under  its  control. 
There  is  a  prevalent  idea  in  England  that  the 
schools  are  used  in  Prussia  for  the  inculcation 
of  those  principles  which  are  favoured  by  the 
Government.  This  is  often  advanced  in  support 
of  arguments  against  the  State  control  of  schools 
in  England.  It  is,  no  doubt,  true  that  the  present 
Emperor  has  made  an  attempt  to  direct  the 
teaching  of  the  secondary  schools  against  certain 
doctrines  which  he  has  believed  to  be  harmful  to 
national  unity  and  strength.  But  it  is  impossible 
for  such  an  attempt  to  succeed  unless  only  those 
teachers  are  appointed  who  hold  precisely  the 
same  views  as  the  Emperor ;  for  no  man  can  be 
forced  to  teach  history  in  such  a  way  as  will 
support  views  in  which  he  does  not  himself 
believe.  It  is,  however,  impossible  to  select 
teachers  for  the  Prussian  secondary  schools  on  any 
such  principle,  the  supply  in  the  training  seminaries 
being,  if  anything,  below  the  actual  demand. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  Emperor's  intentions, 
he  was  bound  to  fail  in  any  attempt  to  impose 
his  will  in  this  or  other  respects  on  the  whole 
teaching  body. 

The  action  of  the  Prussian  Government,  when  it 
thinks  it  necessary  to  reform  its  schools,  is  indeed 
in    marked    contrast    to   that   of   our   own    under 

78 


The  Influence  of  Experts. 

similar  circumstances.  Our  Government  permits 
its  officials  to  make  what  changes  they  like  for  the 
benefit  of  the  schools  under  its  control.  Such 
changes  are  made  by  the  officials — hardly  any  of 
whom  have  had  educational  experience  beyond 
that  of  their  own  boyhood — generally  without 
consulting  experts  or  even  the  Government  in- 
spectors. The  autocrat  King  of  Prussia,  on  the 
other  hand,  calls  to  his  assistance  the  most  en- 
lightened representatives  of  the  teaching  pro- 
fession. It  is  likewise  significant  that,  while  our 
Government  takes  little  or  no  interest  in  the 
question  of  secondary  education,  the  Kaiser  thinks 
it  of  such  importance  to  the  nation  that  he  himself 
opens  the  conference  which  is  to  decide  important 
reforms  in  its  organization,  and  even  places  before 
it  his  own  carefully  thought  out  and  original  views 
as  to  its  aims. 

The  system  of  secondary  education  in  Prussia, 
as  remodelled  by  the  Congress  of  1890,  will  be 
seen  from  the  following  official  time-tables.* 

*  I  have  adopted  the  translation  of  these  tables  made  by  Mr. 
W.  G.  Lipscomb  ("Special  Reports"  of  the  Education  Depart- 
ment, vol.  3).  Boys  generally  enter  this  secondary  school  when 
they  are  nine  years  old.  Where  hours  are  bracketed  together  it 
signifies  that  one  teacher  should  be  entrusted  with  the  subjects  to 
which  they  relate,  and  that  the  hours  may  be  divided  between  these 
subjects  as  the  school  authorities  desire.  The  normal  time-table 
of  the  Realschule  is  the  same  as  that  for  the  first  six  classes,  or  years, 
of  the  Oberrealschule.  But  this  may  be  changed  according  to  the 
requirements  of  special  districts.  Such  changes  have  been  carried 
out  in  table  D. 

79 


Prussian  System  of  Secondary  Schools. 


A. — Time-table  for  Gymnasien  (Classical  Schools). 


VI. 

V. 

IV. 
2 

3l 
7) 
4 

2 
2 

4 
2 

2 

IIIb. 

2 
2 

7 
6 

3 

2 
I 

3 

2 
2 

IIIa. 

2 

2 

7 
6 

3 

2 
I 

3 

2 

2 
30 

IlB. 
2 

3 

7 
6 

3 
2 
I 

4 
2 

30 

IIa. 
2 

3 

6 
6 
2 

3 
4 

2 
28 

IB. 
2 

3 

6 
6 
2 

3 

4 

2 
28 

lA. 
2 

3 

6 
6 
2 

3 

4 

2 
28 

Total. 

Compared 

with 
formerly. 

Religion 

German      and 
Historical 
Narration  . . 

Latin 

Greek 

French 

History     and 
Geography  . 

Arithmetic 
and  Algebra 

Natural    His- 
tory   

Physics,    Ele- 
ments of  Che- 
mistry,    and 
Mineralogy . 

Writing 

Drawing  .... 

3 

h 

8) 

h 
h 

2 

2 
2J 

3l 

s) 

2 

4 

2 

2 
2 

19 
26 

62 
36 
19 
26 

34 
8 

10 

4 

8 

+     0 

+    5 

—  15 

—  4 

—  2 

—  2 

(See 

German). 

+    0 

—  2 

+      2 

+     0 

+     2 

Total 

25 

25 

28 

3° 

252       —  16 

B. — Time-table  for  Realgymnasien  (Modern  Schools  with 
Latin). 

Compared 

with 
formerly. 


Religion 

German      and 
Historical 
Narration. . . 

Latin 

French  

English 

History      and 
Geography. . 

Arithmetic 
and  Algebra 


VI. 

V. 

IV. 
2 

IIIb. 

IIlA. 

2 

IlB. 

2 

IIa. 

IB. 

Ia. 

Total. 

3 

2 

2 

2 

2 

19 

3 

2I 

4| 

P 

3l 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

28 

i)    > 

i)  > 

> 

«! 

8) 

7I 

4 

4 

3 

3 

3 

3 

43 

— 

— 

5 

5 

5 

4 

4 

4 

4 

31 

— 

— 

— 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

18 

}^ 

2 

2 

2 

2 
2 

2 

2 

2 

I 

3 

3 

3 

28 

h 

1    4 

4 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

42 

+    o 

+  I 

—  II 

—  3 

—  2 

—  2 
(See 

German). 

—  2 


80 


Prussian  System  of  Secondary  Schools. 


VI. 

V. 

IV. 

IIIb. 

IIIa.  IlB. 

IIa.  Ib. 

Ia. 

Total. 

Compared 

with 

formerly. 

Natural  His- 
tory  

Physics 

Chemistry  and 
Mineralogy  . 

Writing 

Drawing 

2 

}- 

2 
25 

2 

2 
2 

2 

2 

2 

2 
30 

2 

2 
30 

3} 

2 
30 

1} 

2 

30 

2 
30 

2 

30 

12 
12 

6 

4 
16 

±     0 
±     0 

±     0 

±    0 
—      2 

Total 

25 

29 

259 

—  21 

C. — Time-table  for  Oberrealschulen  (Modern  Schools 
WITHOUT  Latin). 


Compared 

VI. 

V. 

IV. 

IIIb. 

IIIa. 

llB. 

IIa. 

2 

Ib. 

2 

lA. 

2 

Total. 

with 
formerly. 

Religion  .... 

^ 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

19 

±    0 

German     and 

4| 

3) 

Historical 

hi 

4) 

4l 

3 

3 

3 

4 

4 

4 

34 

+    4 

Narration  . . 

l)    > 

l)    > 

> 

French 

6) 

6) 

6l 

6 

6 

■; 

4 

4 

4 

47 

-    9 

English 

— 

— 

— 

5 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

25 

—    I 

History     and 
Geography  . 

}^ 

}^ 

2 
2 

2 
2 

2 

2 

2 

I 

3 

3 

3 

28 

—    2 

(See 

Arithmetic 
and  Algebra 

}s 

5 

6 

6 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

47 

German). 
—    2 

Natural    His- 

tory   

2 

2 

2 

2 

1} 

2] 

— 

— 

— 

12 

—     I 

Physics 

— 

— 

— 

— 

2 

3 

3l 

3| 

13 

—     I 

Chemistry  and 

}- 

> 

> 

> 

Mineralogy . 

2) 

31 

3) 

3) 

II 

+     2 

Writing 

2 

2 

2 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

— 

0 

±    0 

Freehand 

1- 

25 

2 

?, 

2 

2 

7. 

?. 

2 

2 

t6 

-    8 

Drawing  . . . 

25 

28 

30 

30 

30 

Total 

30 

30 

30 

258 

-  18 

81 


Prussian  System  of  Secondary  Schools. 

D. — Specimen  of  Time-table  of  Realschule  adapted  to  the 
Requirements  of  a  Special  District  (see  note,  p.  79). 


Religion 

German  and  His- 
torical >Jarration 

French  

Enf^lish 

History  and  Geo- 
graphy   

Arithmetic  and 
Mathematics  .... 

Natural  History  . . 

Natural  Philosophy 

Writing 

Freehand  Drawing 

Total 


VI. 


6/ 


25 


V. 


4 1 


K) 


25 


5 
6>      6 


28 


III. 

11. 

I. 

Total. 

2 

2 

2 

13 

5 

4 

3 

28 

5 

4 

4 

31 

5 

4 

4 

13 

2 

0 

2 

2 

I 

2 

19 

5 

5 

5 

28 

2 

3> 

— 

10 

— 

5 

8 
6 

2 

30 

2 

29 

2 

10 

29 

166 

Compared 

with 
formerly. 


±     O 

+    7 
-    9 


-  13 


To  appreciate  the  full  purpose  of  this  system,  a 
knowledge  is  necessary  of  the  different  privileges 
bestowed  by  the  various  courses  of  study.  At  the 
end  of  each  school  course  an  examination  is  held, 
under  the  supervision  of  a  Government  commis- 
sioner, by  the  teachers  attached  to  the  highest  class 
of  the  school  The  pupils  who  pass  this  examina- 
tion receive  a  certificate  of  maturity,  as  it  is  called. 
There  are  also  lower  certificates  given,  as  will  be 
seen  from  the  following  list.  This  list  shows  the 
chief  privileges  bestowed  by  the  various  certificates. 

Classical  Gymnasitim, — The  certificate  of  ma- 
turity admits  to  the  University  for  the  study  of 

82 


"  Privileges  "  of  Secondary  Education. 

Philosophy,  History,  Classical  Philology,  Law 
Theology,  Political  and  Economic  Science  and 
Medicine  ;  the  Military  Medical  School  at  Berlin  : 
the  examination  for  the  Teaching  Profession.* 

Classical  Gyninasiwn  or  Realgymnasiimi. — The 
certificate  of  maturity  admits  to  the  examination 
for  the  Teaching  Profession  (Mathematics,  Natural 
Science,  Geography  and  Modern  Language) ; 
entrance  examination  for  the  Schools  of  Forestry 
(age  limit  25)  ;  higher  Military  and  Naval  services 
(without  special  examination  ;  age  limit  17  to  23). 

Gymnashnn,  Realgymnasium,  and  Oberrealschnle. 
— The  certificate  of  maturity  admits  to  the  Uni- 
versity for  the  study  of  Mathematics  and  Natural 
Science ;  examinations  for  the  Teaching  Profes- 
sion (Mathematics  and  Natural  Science)  ;  special 
examinations  for  Government  Architects,  Engineers 
(civil,  constructive,  machine,  mining,  marine)  ; 
Woods  and  Forests  Department  and  entrance  ex- 
aminations to  the  Schools  of  Forestry  ;  higher 
appointments  in  the  Post-office,  Telegraph  Service 
and  Imperial  Bank ;  the  Academic  High  School 
of  Church  Music. 

Gymnasium  or  Realgymnasium. — Seventh-year 
certificate  f    admits    to    Government    Survey    Dc- 

*  The  teaching  profession  referred  to  in  this  list  is  that  of  the 
secondary  schools. 

t  Certificates  delivered  on  result  of  examination  held  at  the  end 
of  the  seventh  year,  and  not  at  the  end  of  the  full  course  as  in  the 
case  of  ceriihcates  of  maturity. 

7  83 


"  Privileges  "  of  Secondary  Education. 

partment  (also  obtained  by  the  sixth-year  certifi- 
cate with  an  additional  course  of  study  in  special 
schools),  dentists'  examinations  ;  civil  and  military 
veterinary  examinations  ;  higher  Military  and 
Naval  services  (supplemented  by  a  special  ex- 
amination— for  this  privilege  "honours"  must 
have  been  obtained  in  English  at  the  certificate 
examination). 

Gymnasium,  Realgymnasium,  Oberrealschtile* — 
Sixth-year  certificate  (or  certificate  of  maturity  of 
a  RealscJmIe)  admits  to  one  year's  voluntary  service 
in  the  Army  or  Navy  ;  examination  for  the  Teach- 
ing Profession  (drawing  and  gymnastics)  ;  High 
Schools  of  Art  and  of  Music  ;  to  the  lower  ranks 
of  the  Civil  Sen'^ice  and  Administration  of  State 
Railways  (but  not  without  special  examination  to 
posts  demanding  technical  knowledge)  ;  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Institute  at  Potsdam  (evidence  of 
a  certain  knowledge  of  Latin  required) ;  Agri- 
cultural Schools  at  Berlin  and  Poppelsdorf;  Phar- 
maceutical examination  (additional  knowledge  of 
Latin  demanded)  ;  Paymaster  in  the  Army  or 
Navy. 

It  is,  of  course,  a  mistake  to  imagine  that 
a  nation  is  ever  guided  by  one  single  aim  in 
the  development  of  its    educational    system.     In 

*  Certificates  delivered  on  result  of  examination  held  at  the  end 
of  the  sixth  year,  and  not  at  the  end  of  the  full  course  as  in  the  case 
of  certificates  of  maturity. 

84 


The  National  Aim. 

Germany,  as  much  as  in  any  other  country,  many 
and  complex  forces  have  been  at  work  perfecting 
the  growth  of  the  schools.  But  one  aim  may  be 
said  to  have  dominated  all  others,  and  the  nation 
has  marched  towards  one  fixed  goal,  however 
devious  the  paths  it  has  followed,  and  however 
strong  the  attraction  of  side  interests.  As  we  have 
seen,  this  resultant  singleness  of  purpose  would 
have  been  impossible  had  it  not  been  for  the 
external  pressure  of  foreign  rivalry.  Indeed,  we 
find  in  the  history  of  the  movement  that  whenever 
this  pressure  has  diminished,  subordinate  forces 
have  invariably  exerted  a  stronger  influence.  It 
is  particularly  interesting  to  notice  how  at  such 
times  social  prejudices  have  gathered  round  the 
traditional  classical  education,  and  for  the  moment 
threatened,  even  if  they  have  not  definitely 
achieved,  a  retrograde  movement.  And  yet,  through- 
out the  nineteenth  century,  we  may  trace  in  Prussia 
the  slow  and  consistent  development  of  the  educa- 
tional system  along  lines  which,  from  our  distant 
standpoint,  appear  to  have  led  straight  and  true 
towards  the  present  consummation.  Having  pro- 
vided compulsory  elementary  education  up  to  the 
age  of  fourteen  for  all  children  who  were  destined 
for  the  lower  occupations  of  life,  Prussia  has  at  the 
same  time  brought  the  collective  energy  and 
wisdom  of  the  State  to  bear  on  the  education  of 
those  whose  duty  it  is,  in  one  capacity  or  another, 

85 


The  Science  of  Education — 

to  guide  and  direct  the  work  of  these  lower  classes. 
With  deep  respect  for  the  results  achieved  by  the 
experiments  of  such  great  educators  as  Pestalozzi, 
and  of  the  scientific  researches  of  such  philosophers 
as  Fichte  and  Herbart,  her  statesmen  have  been  led 
to  regard  education  as  a  scientific  process,  rather 
than  as  a  mere  privilege  to  be  doled  out  to  people 
in  proportion  to  rights  based  on  considerations  of 
wealth  or  social  position.  The  question  has,  there- 
fore, been  :  Which  is  the  best  kind  of  education 
that  can  be  given  .-•  and  not,  what  is  the  greatest 
amount  of  education  that  can  be  allowed  ?  Having 
disposed,  by  the  assistance  of  scholarships  for  free 
education,  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the 
education  of  the  talented  child  of  the  poorest 
classes,  it  remained  to  provide  the  best  kind  of 
education  for  the  two  classes  into  which  the  rest 
of  the  population  naturally  divided  itself. 

First,  there  were  those  who  could  afford  to  keep 
their  children  at  school  for  an  indefinite  length  of 
time  ;  secondly,  there  were  those  who  were  obliged 
to  put  their  children  to  work  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen or  seventeen.  Again,  from  another  point  of 
view — from  that  of  their  occupation  in  hfe — this 
section  of  the  population  might  be  divided  into 
the  two  following  classes :  those  following  the 
learned  professions  and  those  pursuing  industrial, 
agricultural,  or  commercial  pursuits. 

If    education    is   a    scientific    process,   it   must 
86 


based  on  Natural  Laws — 

conform  to  certain  laws  of  nature.  And  the 
German  scientists  and  philosophers  have  discovered 
— as,  indeed,  have  the  scientists  and  philosophers  in 
every  other  country — that  there  are  natural  laws 
which  rule  the  mental,  moral,  and  physical  develop- 
ment of  man.  When  a  nation  has  decided  that 
its  very  existence  depends  on  the  education  of  the 
people,  by  which  must  be  promoted  their  self- 
activity  and  self-responsibility,  it  will,  in  its  con- 
siderations of  education,  view  man  as  man,  and 
not  merely  as  a  producer,  a  thinker,  or  a  fighter. 
It  will,  therefore,  as  far  as  possible,  insist  that  its 
education  shall  conform  to  the  natural  laws  regu- 
lating the  development  of  man. 

These  natural  laws  may  be  expressed  somewhat 
as  follows.  In  the  case  of  man,  the  period  of 
physical  infancy — that  is  to  say,  of  dependence 
upon  others — is  much  longer  than  in  the  case  of 
other  animals.  And  mentally  and  morally  there 
is  a  period  of  infancy  peculiar  to  man  as  distinct 
from  the  other  animals.  This  infancy,  depen- 
dence, or  helplessness  is  due  to  the  fact  that  nature 
demands  that  every  organism  shall  be  adjusted  to 
its  environment  before  it  can  live  alone.  The 
adjustment  or  fitting  to  the  environment  must, 
therefore,  be  watched  over  and  guided  by  those 
on  whom  it  depends.  The  watching  over  and 
guiding  of  this  process  of  adjustment  is  the  work 
of  education.     Nature  alone  determines  what  the 

»7 


Which  must  be  obeyed — 

fully  developed  organism  is  to  be,  and  by  what 
steps  it  shall  arrive  at  the  final  result.  It  is  true 
that  those  on  whom  it  depends  during  the  period 
of  infancy  may  interfere  with  this  development ; 
they  may  have  their  own  views  as  to  the  destinies 
of  the  organism,  and  they  may  prevent  its  proper 
adjustment  to  its  environment,  and  hence  its  full 
capability  of  living  alone  in  self-dependence  and 
self-activity.  The  commonest  way  of  thus  inter- 
fering is  to  insist  on  special  training  for  some 
future  occupation  before  the  organism  has  satis- 
factorily completed  its  natural  development.  The 
adjustment  of  man  to  his  environment  on  the 
mental  side,  for  instance,  depends  on  his  being 
fitted  to  live  in  the  moral  and  intellectual  sur- 
roundings of  modern  civilization.  These  surround- 
ings are  formed  by  our  religion,  our  art,  our 
science,  and  our  literature.  To  each  of  these  the 
child  must  be  introduced  by  those  on  whom  it 
depends.  If,  therefore,  it  is  decided  that,  before 
its  adjustment  to  this  environment  is  as  complete 
as  nature  demands,  the  child  shall  be  introduced 
by  those  on  whom  it  depends  to  one  section  at 
the  expense  of  the  others,  it  will  never  become  a 
lully  developed  man,  self-dependent  and  self-active. 
Now,  though  in  this  argument  principles  have 
been  touched  on  which  relate  to  more  or  less 
modern  discoveries  of  science,  yet  it  illustrates 
truths  which  on  the  whole  the  German  educators 

88 


and  are  obeyed  in  Germany — 

have  fully  recognized  in  building  up  their  system 
of  education.  We  do  not  find  in  Prussia  the 
attempt  which  we  find  in  England  and  France  ; 
the  State  does  not  increase  the  quantity  of  the 
education  of  a  child  who  has  left  the  elementary 
school  by  forcing  him  through  a  course  of  special 
training  before  his  general  natural  development  is 
completed.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  held  in  Prussia 
that  this  natural  development  must  be  continued 
along  general  lines.  If,  for  economic  reasons,  it 
cannot  be  continued  as  far  as  nature  would  demand, 
at  any  rate  it  is  carried  on  as  far  as  is  possible 
under  the  circumstances.  The  State  refuses  to  be  a 
party  to  any  spending  of  the  resources  of  the  nation 
on  an  education  which  breaks  the  laws  of  nature. 

It  is  on  this  account  that  we  find  the  higher 
primary  school  gradually  being  transformed  into 
or  replaced  by  the  Realschule  —  a  secondary 
school  for  those  boys  whose  parents  can  only 
afford  to  maintain  them  in  a  position  of  com- 
plete dependence  up  to  the  age  of  sixteen  or 
seventeen.  This  school  provides  a  similar  educa- 
tion to  that  ofi'ered  by  the  lower  classes  of  the 
higher  modern  secondary  school  (Oberrealschule) 
for  boys  leaving  at  the  age  of  eighteen  or  nine- 
teen. It  is  only  necessary  to  study  the  time- 
tables of  the  Realschulen  to  see  how  carefully 
the  principle  of  general  development  is  observed 
for  those   boys   who    will    not   enter   the    learned 

89 


In  Secondary  Education. 

professions.  And  at  the  same  time  a  glance  at  the 
time-tables  of  the  classical  schools  will  show  that 
Prussia  insists  that  even  members  of  the  learned 
professions  shall  have  passed  through  a  natural 
course  of  development ;  for  it  is  evident  that  they 
also  must  be  adjusted  to  the  surroundings  of 
modern  civilization  in  which  they  will  be  obliged 
to  live. 

It  may  seem  strange,  to  those  who  are  familiar 
with  the  part  that  Germany  has  played  in  classical 
research,  that  her  classical  secondary  schools  should 
pay  greater  attention  to  modern  studies  than  those 
of  England. 

In  a  little  book  which  has  recently  appeared  in 
France,*  the  following  testimony  is  borne  to  the 
German  system  of  secondary  education  : — 

"  Among  the  circumstances  which  favour  German 
secondary  education,  should  be  noted  the  length  ot 
time  over  which  the  studies  are  spread  (nine  years, 
starting  from  the  sixth  class)  ;  the  almost  entire 
absence  of  boarding  schools,  which  thus  frees  the 
State  from  a  mission  for  which  it  is  scarcely  fitted  ; 
the  decentralization,  carried  as  far  as  possible,  of 
administrative  power,  which  is  delegated  in  a  large 
measure  to  the  provincial  councils  ;  the  practice, 
constantly  followed  by  the  State,  of  decreeing  only 
such  changes  of  organization  as  are  based  on  the 
success  of  tried  experiments  ;  the  principle,  invari- 
ably put  into  practice,  of  giving  the  head-master 

*  A   Pinloche:    "  L'Enseignement   secondaire    en    Allemagne," 
1900. 

90 


French  Criticism  of  German  Education. 

charge  of  the  most  important  part  of  the  teaching  ; 
the  important  part  that  the  council  of  masters  plays 
in  effectively  directing  the  studies  ;  the  confiding 
of  moral  and  religious  instruction  to  the  same 
educators  as  literary  and  scientific  instruction  ;  the 
moral  as  well  as  educational  role  assigned  to 
the  principal  master  of  each  class  ;  the  manner  of 
recruiting  the  staff,  each  member  of  which,  after 
passing  a  qualifying  examination,  has  to  undergo 
a  twofold  course  of  traming  which  guarantees  the 
State  that  he  possesses,  besides  the  special  know- 
ledge requisite,  certain  indispensable  pedagogic  and 
professional  qualifications ;  lastly,  from  another 
point  of  view,  the  solicitude  of  the  State  for  the 
material  interests  of  its  officers  (who  are  paid  their 
salaries  quarterly  and  in  advance  without  any 
deduction  being  made  for  their  pensions)  no  less 
than  for  their  widows  and  orphans,  who,  in  addition 
to  the  grace  term,*  are  assured  a  sufficient  pension, 
however  short  a  time  the  teachers  may  have 
served." 

Though  it  Is  only  possible  here  to  give  a  very 
brief  and  incomplete  account  of  the  Prussian 
system  of  secondary  schools,  there  is  one  other 
important  reform  which  must  be  noticed.  So 
greatly  do  the  Germans  appreciate  the  value  of 
general  education,  that  they  have  asked  them- 
selves if  it  is  altogether  wise  that  a  boy  should 
have  to  choose  at  the  age  of  nine — when  he  enters 
the   secondary    school — between    a    classical    and 

*  They  are  always  given  a  full  term's  salary  in  the  case  in  which 
the  teacher  dies  during  the  course  of  the  term.  If  the  teacher 
leaves  neither  widow  nor  orphans,  this  term's  salary  may  be  given 
to  those  who  have  incurred  any  expense  trom  his  illness  or  funeral. 

91 


The  Frankfort  System. 

modern  education.  As  a  result,  they  have  intro- 
duced a  reform,  known  as  the  Frankfort  system, 
which  has  met  with  a  good  deal  of  favour.  It  has, 
indeed,  spread  to  such  an  extent  that  it  looks  as 
if  it  might  ultimately  supplant  the  older  system. 
It  consists  in  having  the  same  course  of  studies 
during  the  first  three  years  in  each  of  the  three 
types  of  schools.  Accordingly,  a  boy  may  attend 
one  school  up  to  the  age  of  twelve,  and  then,  if 
advisable,  change  to  another,  where  the  course  of 
studies  is  better  suited  to  his  special  tastes  or 
ability. 

It  is  evident  that,  if  classical  and  modern  schools 
are  to  have  a  common  basis  of  this  kind,  it  is 
necessary  for  the  classical  schools  to  abandon  the 
teaching  of  classical  subjects — that  is  to  say, 
Latin — in  the  lowest  classes.  And,  doubtless, 
such  a  proposal  must  have  appeared  at  first  as 
little  less  than  revolutionary  to  a  number  of 
German  teachers.  But  their  prejudices  were  not 
as  difficult  to  overcome  as  would  have  been  the 
case  in  a  country  where  the  science  of  education 
was  not  studied,  or,  at  any  rate,  not  held  in  great 
repute.  For,  in  this  question  of  the  postponement 
of  Latin,  educational  theory  immediately  came  to 
the  assistance  of  the  demands  of  expediency. 

The  great  majority  of  those  who  have  studied 
the  science  on  which  education  depends  for  its 
proper  performance,  and  particularly  the  followers 

92 


The  Frankfort  System. 

of  Pestalozzi,  are  persuaded  that  a  child  should 
be  introduced  to  the  unknown  through  the  known, 
that  it  should  proceed  from  the  near  to  the  more 
remote.  To  persons  who  think  thus,  the  old  idea, 
that  education  is  nothing  but  a  course  of  discipline, 
which  is  best  carried  out  by  collecting  and  pre- 
senting to  the  child's  mind  all  the  difficulties  to 
be  found  in  the  realm  of  knowledge,  is  little  else 
than  heresy.  Not  that  they  make  the  mistake 
of  going  to  the  other  extreme,  and  believe  that 
there  should  be  no  discipline  in  education,  or 
that  those  on  whom  the  child  depends  should 
remove  all  difficulties  from  its  path  ;  every  teacher 
knows  that  difficulties,  besides  offering  discipline, 
possess  a  peculiar  attraction  for  the  pupil — Res 
severa  "veniin  gaudiuyn.  But  they  do  believe 
that  education  must  conform  to  the  natural  laws 
of  development,  and  that  this  development  is  a 
gradual  strengthening  of  powers  and  functions  of 
the  mind,  according  to  a  systematic  order  of  pro- 
gress. Consequently  they  maintain  that  it  is  as 
fatal  to  present  to  the  child  innumerable  difficulties, 
which  it  is  utterly  beyond  the  natural  strength  of 
its  mind  to  overcome,  as  it  is  to  tax  the  endurance 
of  its  physical  powers  beyond  the  limits  which 
nature  has  imposed  on  them. 

The  law  by  which  such  persons  are  guided  may, 
in  its  broadest  and  most  general  terms,  be  stated 
thus  :  what  is  easiest  must  come  first,  and  what  is 

93 


The  Frankfort  System. 

most  difficult  must  come  last.  What  it  is  easiest 
for  children  to  understand  is  that  which  is  nearest 
to  them  in  their  actual  surroundings  ;  what  it  is 
most  difficult  for  their  intelligence  to  grasp  is  that 
which  is  furthest  from  them  in  the  realms  of 
abstract  thought.  To  find  the  sequence  of  diffi- 
culties, which  leads  from  one  extreme  to  the  other, 
is  no  light  task  ;  but  it  is  the  duty  of  educators  to 
find  it ;  and  they  will  be  helped  in  so  doing  by 
a  knowledge  of  the  natural  order  of  development 
of  the  human  faculties,  and  by  a  clear  perception 
of  the  ultimate  goal  to  be  attained.  But  though 
Nature  decides  the  development  of  the  faculties, 
she  does  not  alone  determine  this  goal,  as 
Rousseau  thought,  or  rather  wished  to  think  ;  it 
is  determined  much  more  by  what  is  of  man  or 
human  in  the  environment. 

Not  only  is  language  one  of  the  most  important 
links  between  the  individual  and  what  is  human  in 
the  environment,  but  it  is  also  the  indispensable 
link  between  him  and  the  thoughts  of  all  ages, 
which  have  gone  to  build  up  and  mould  this 
environment.  A  knowledge  of  language,  therefore, 
is  the  first  essential  element  in  the  individual's 
stock  of  requirements.  But  the  process  by  which 
he  becomes  possessed  of  them  must  conform  to 
the  law  of  the  order  of  mental  development  ;  he 
must  proceed  from  the  nearer  to  the  more  remote. 
And  although,  ideally  speaking,  his  adjustment  to 

94 


The  Frankfort  System. 

his  environment  will  not  be  complete  until  he  is 
capable  of  understanding  all  the  languages  in 
which  the  greatest  thoughts  have  been  expressed, 
he  must  first  grapple  with  that  which  is  nearest 
to  him,  his  own  mother  tongue.  Having  mastered 
this — which,  even  if  he  learns  no  other,  will  afford 
him  a  means  of  communication  with  foreign  litera- 
ture at  second-hand — he  will  in  the  natural  order 
of  things  proceed  to  the  study  of  that  language 
which  comes  next  in  the  sequence  of  difficulties. 
If  this  sequence  is  to  lead  to  Latin  and  Greek,  the 
next  step,  for  both  the  English  and  the  German 
child,  will  be  to  commence  the  study  of  French. 
Thus  did  the  science  of  education  come  to  the  aid 
of  those  Germans  who  were  anxious  that  the  three 
lowest  forms  of  their  three  different  types  of  schools 
should  supply  a  common  basis  of  instruction. 

It  was  in  Frankfort  that  the  reform  was  first 
carried  into  effect  in  its  entirety.  The  practical 
results  exceeded  the  expectations  which  had  been 
derived  from  theoretical  reasoning.  The  master 
of  the  famous  Frankfort  Gymnasium,  who  is  him- 
self a  distinguished  classical  scholar,  has  found 
that  boys  who,  after  three  years'  "intensive"  study 
of  French,  commence  the  study  of  Latin  at  the 
age  of  twelve,  will  in  a  few  years  overtake  and 
pass  boys  who  have  been  learning  Latin  on  the  old 
traditional  plan.  And,  at  the  same  time,  the  former 
have    acquired    a    conversational     knowledge    of 

95 


The  Frankfort  System. 


French,  and  a  mastery  of  its  grammatical  diffi- 
culties, which  can  only  be  attained  from  daily 
contact  with  the  language. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  time-tables  given  below 
that  in  the  Gymnasium  Greek,  and  in  the  Real- 
gymnasium  English,  is  not  begun  until  two  years 
after  the  commencement  of  Latin.  It  will  also 
be  noticed  that  a  large  number  of  hours  are 
devoted  to  the  study  of  these  languages  in  the 
early  stages ;  so  that  at  the  commencement  the  pupil 
is  brought  into  daily  contact  with  the  language. 
A. — Gymnasium,* 


VI. 

V. 

IV.  IIIb. 

IIIa. 

IIb. 

1 1  A. 

Ib. 

lA. 

Total. 

Compared 

with 
formerly. 

Religion  .... 

German  and! 
Historical  > 
Narration  . .  j 

Latin 

Greek 

French  

History  and"! 
Geograpliy  ./ 

Arithmetic  1 
and  Mathe-> 
matics ) 

Natural  His-j 
tory / 

Physics 

"Writing 

Drawing  .... 

3 
5 

6 

2 

Geog. 

5 

2 
2 

2 

4 

6 

2 

Geog- 

5 

2 

2 
2 

2 
4 

6 
5 

2 
2 

2 

3 

lO 
2 

3 
4 

2 

2 

2 

3 

lO 
2 

3 
4 

2 
2 

2 

3 

S 
8 

2 

2 

3 

2 

2 

3 

8 
8 
2 

2 

4 

2 

2 

3 

8 
8 
2 

2 

4 

2 

2 

3 

8 
8 
2 

3 
3 

31 

19 

31 

52 
32 
30 
24 

37 

10 

8 

4 
8 

±     0 
+  10 
-25 

-    8 
+    9 

(   -    4 

{See    Ger. 
'    man. 

+    3 

±    0 

+    0 
±    0 

+    2 

Total 

25 

25 

26 

28 

28 

30 

31 

31 

255 

-  13 

*  Such  subjects  as  Drilling,  Gymnastics,  and  Singing  do  not  appear 
in  these  tables,  though  they  form  part  of  the  instruction  provided. 

96 


The  Frankfort  System. 


B. — Real  Gymnasium, 


VI. 

V. 

IV. 

IIl2. 

nil. 

II2. 

li. 

I2. 

ii. 

Total. 

Compared 

with 
formerly. 

Religion  .... 

German  and  j 
Historical  > 
Narration  .  . ) 

Latin 

French 

English 

History  andl 
Geography  .  / 

Arithmetic  1 
and  Mathe-| 
matics 1 

Natural  His-) 
tory / 

Physics 

Chemistry  . . . 

Writing 

Drawing  .... 

3 

5 

6 

2 
Geog 

5 

2 

2 

2 

4 
6 

2 

Geog. 

5 
2 

2 
2 

2 
4 

6 

h 

5 
2 

2 

2 
3 

8 
4 

3 

4 

2 

2 

2 

3 

8 
4 

3 

4 

2 

2 

2 

3 

6 

3 
6 

3 
4 

3 
2 

2 

3 

6 
3 

4 

3 
5 

2 
2 

2 

2 

3 

6 
3 
4 

3 

5 

2 
2 

2 

2 

3 

6 
3 
4 

3 

5 

2 

2 

2 

19 
31 

40 

38 
18 

27 
42 

10 

9 
6 

4 
16 

±     0 

+    4 

—  14 
+    4 

—  2 

f   ~    3 

<See    Ger- 
'■  man. 

—  2 

—  2 

—  3 
±     0 
±     0 

—  2 

Total 

25 

25 

26 

28 

28 

32 

32 

32 

32 

260 

—  20 

In  1896,  four  members*  of  the  British  Technical 
Instruction  Commission,  which  is  alluded  to  more 
than  once  in  these  pages,  paid  a  visit  to  Germany, 
on  their  own  initiative,  with  a  view  to  ascertaining 
the  recent  progress  of  technical  education  in  that 
country.  In  their  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Devon- 
shire, relating  the  result  of  their  inquiry,  they  bear 
the  following  striking  testimony  to  the  industrial 


*  Sir  Philip  Magnus,  Mr.  Gilbert  R.  Redgrave,  Mr.  (now  Sir) 
Swire  Smith,  and  the  late  Mr.  William  Woodall,  M.P. 

97 


Criticism  of  German  Secondary  Schools. 

and  commercial  benefits  derived  by  Germany  from 
her  system  of  secondary  education.    They  say  : — 

"  Our  recent  visit  to  Germany  has  also  im- 
pressed us  with  a  sense  of  the  advantages  which 
the  nation  derives  from  having  an  organized 
system  of  secondary  education.  To  this  matter 
reference  was  made  in  the  Report  of  1884,  and  we 
desire  to  emphasize  it.  The  education  of  a 
secondary  school  is  in  every  way  more  accessible 
in  Germany  than  here.  The  grades  and  differ- 
ences of  schools  are  better  defined  and  more 
clearly  understood  ;  the  instruction  is  more  dis- 
ciplinary, and  exercises  a  deep  influence  in  the 
formation  of  habits  and  in  the  training  of  character  ; 
the  teaching  of  modern  languages  is  insisted  upon 
to  a  far  greater  extent  than  m  any  of  our  own 
schools,  with  results  of  the  greatest  possible  benefit 
to  the  German  clerk  and  commercial  agent  ;  the 
absence  of  frequent  and  conflicting  external  ex- 
amination gives  more  time  for  careful  study  ;  the 
remission  of  two  years'  military  service  to  those 
who  reach  a  certain  standard  in  a  secondary  school 
is  a  powerful  encouragement  to  steady  application  ; 
and  the  fees  are  much  lower  than  in  schools  of 
corresponding  grade  in  this  country.  These  are 
advantages  which  count  for  much  in  enabling  the 
German  youth  to  obtain  a  good  secondary  educa- 
tion, and  in  fitting  him  for  the  subsequent  period 
of  apprenticeship  in  the  counting-house,  the  mer- 
chant's office,  or  the  factory.  The  German  boy 
acquires  at  school  a  stock  of  knowledge  which  is 
at  once  useful  to  him,  and  he  also  acquires  habits 
of  accuracy,  and  learns  the  significance  of  attention 
to  detail  and  the  importance  of  discipline  and 
obedience.  Our  consular  reports  are  full  of 
references  to  the  differences  between  the  methods 

98 


Selection  of  the  Fittest — 

of  training  and  aptitudes  for  commerce  in  Ger- 
many and  in  England,  which  in  many  ways  are 
traceable  to  the  fundamental  differences  in  the 
secondary  education  of  the  two  countries." 

We  shall  see  later  on  that  the  national  aim  has 
not  remained  supreme  and  unchallenged  in  the 
French  educational  ideas  of  the  last  century. 
Social  considerations  have  throughout  this  period 
played  a  large  part  in  the  organization  of  her 
national  system.  Having  failed,  for  reasons  which 
it  will  be  attempted  hereafter  to  explain,  to  build 
up  a  democracy  of  as  advanced  a  type  as  that 
existing  in  the  United  States  of  America,  she  has 
been  compelled  to  use  education  as  a  means  for 
providing  checks  on  inordinate  social  ambition. 
Germany  has  not  in  the  past  been  turned  aside  by 
any  such  necessity  from  a  single-minded  pursuit 
of  national  prosperity.  It  is  true  that,  to  a  great 
extent  for  wise  economic  reasons,  she  has,  as  far 
as  possible,  refused  to  admit  to  her  secondary 
schools  those  who  are  not  fitted  by  nature  to 
profit  from  her  secondary  education.  In  the 
Prussian  Code  of  1794,  for  instance,  we  find  the 
following  passage  :  "  Youths  who  do  not  possess 
sufficient  aptitude  for  secondary  studies  must  as 
soon  as  possible  be  prevented  from  pursuing  them, 
and  their  parents  should  be  warned  to  direct  them 
betimes  towards  some  other  profitable  career," 

In  the  same  document  it  is,  however,  ordained 
8  99 


In  German  Secondary  Schools. 

that  every  means  should  be  adopted  for  encourag- 
ing and  assisting  those  who  show  special  ability 
to  continue  their  studies.  In  1 891,  we  find  the 
same  twofold  advice  repeated.  It  is  difficult  to 
imagine  that  there  can,  on  any  grounds,  be  an 
objection  to  such  a  system  of  severe  selection 
of  the  fittest.  Educationally  it  is  as  harmful  to 
compel  an  individual  to  pursue  his  general  studies 
beyond  the  limits  prescribed  by  nature,  as  it  is 
to  force  him  to  specialize  while  nature  is  still 
pursuing  her  process  of  general  development. 
And  unless  all  education  is  made  free,  as  it  is 
to  a  very  great  extent  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  the  fullest  liberty  is  allowed  to 
the  individual  to  choose  to  what  extent  he  will 
pursue  his  studies,  it  is  essential  that  the  State 
itself  should  undertake  the  work  of  selection. 
No  intermediate  course  is  theoretically  sound,  or 
could  in  practice  prove  economically  successful. 

But  we  do  not  find  in  Germany  a  strong  desire, 
based  on  social  prejudices,  to  prevent  children 
of  the  lower  classes  from  enjoying  a  liberal 
education.  Compared  with  other  countries,  it 
may  be  said  that  her  one  object  is  to  promote 
national  prosperity ;  and  to  the  achievement  of 
this  object  her  educational  system  is  directed. 
There  is  indeed  no  European  country  which  can 
be  so  profitably  studied  by  those  who  desire  to 
learn  how  far,  and  by  what  means,  education  can 
100 


German  Technical  Education. 

best  be  made  to  subserve  national  ends.  Her 
technical  education,  for  example,  is  the  best  she 
can  devise  for  the  promotion  of  her  industrial 
interests.  In  organizing  this  branch  of  education 
she  has,  again,  not  allowed  herself  to  be  influenced 
by  any  considerations  of  class  interests — considera- 
tions which  possess  an  element  of  pettiness  galling 
in  the  extreme  to  the  sincere  educator. 

Germany  was  the  first  country  to  bring  a 
scientific  and  methodical  spirit  to  bear  on  the 
organization  of  technical  education  ;  and  she  is 
to-day  far  ahead  of  any  other  country  in  Europe 
in  the  practical  progress  which  she  can  show  in 
her  industrial  development  as  a  direct  result  of 
that  system.  It  is  in  the  higher  branches  of 
technical  education  that  Germany  excels  other 
European  countries.  '*  We  are  led  to  believe," 
said  the  Technical  Instruction  Commissioners,  in 
the  letter  just  referred  to,  "that  much  more  is 
being  done  for  the  training  of  those  destined  for 
the  higher  ranks  of  industry  in  many  parts  of 
Germany  than  in  England,  and  this,  too,  notwith- 
standing the  large  sums  entrusted  to  county 
councils  and  borough  authorities  under  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Local  Taxation  (Customs  and 
Excise)  Act  of  1890."  And  further  on,  showing 
the  course  which  Germany  has  pursued,  they 
say : — 

*'  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  same  object 

lOI 


Rapid  and  Astounding  Progress. 

which  called  into  existence  some  forty  or  fifty 
years  ago  the  technical  high  schools  has  recently 
led  to  their  extension  and  development  in  a  new 
direction.  As  far  back  as  that  period  Germany 
began  to  prepare  herself  for  becoming  a  manu- 
facturing people.  It  was  her  belief  in  the  future 
applications  of  chemistry  to  industrial  purposes 
that  led  to  the  erection  and  equipment  at  a  great 
cost  of  chemical  laboratories,  and  to  the  encourage- 
ment held  out  to  students  to  pursue  their  studies 
in  those  laboratories  for  a  period  of  five,  six,  or 
even  seven  years.  The  success  that  has  attended 
the  efforts  of  the  Germans  to  appropriate  many 
important  branches  of  chemical  manufacturing 
industry  is  well  known,  and  the  dependence  of 
those  industries  on  the  researches  of  chemical 
experts  employed  in  the  works  is  generally 
recognized.  At  the  Badische  Anilin-  und  Soda 
Fabrik  alone  a  hundred  scientifically  trained 
chemists  and  thirty  engineers  are  now  employed. 

*'  Her  brilliant  achievements  in  the  field  of 
chemical  industries  have  encouraged  her  to  es- 
tablish well-equipped  electrical  laboratories,  and 
to  develop  the  practical  teaching  of  physics  with 
the  view  of  assisting  the  electrical  trades,  which 
are  of  comparatively  recent  growth.  Twelve  years 
ago  the  Commissioners  had  to  report  that  the 
facilities  for  practical  laboratory  instruction  in 
electrical  technology  scarcely  existed,  or  were  of 
the  most  meagre  kind.  At  that  time  nowhere 
in  Germany  was  to  be  found  so  well-equipped 
a  laboratory  for  electrical  engineers  as  at  the 
Finsbury  Technical  College.  Now  there  are  no 
laboratories  in  England  which  can  compare  in 
the  detail  and  completeness  of  their  equipment 
with  those  we  visited  at  Darmstadt  and  Stuttgart; 
and   no    facilities    for   original    and    independent 

102 


The  Bases  of  Technical  Education. 

research  in  physical  subjects  to  be  compared 
with  those  afforded  at  the  Imperial  Physical 
Institute  at  Charlottenburg." 

Germany  has  devoted  her  greatest  energies 
during  recent  years  to  the  development  of  this 
technical  education  of  university  grade.  Those 
Englishmen  who  were  inclined  to  wonder  that  the 
State  in  Germany  has  not  spent  all  the  money  at 
its  disposal  on  the  creation  of  technical  schools  of 
a  lower  grade — as  it  may  be  said,  with  very  slight 
exaggeration,  central  and  local  authorities  in 
England  have  done — should,  in  the  first  place, 
remember  that  Germany's  elementary  education  is 
probably  as  superior  to  our  own  in  quality  as  it 
is  in  extent,  and  that  her  secondary  education  is 
infinitely  better  organized  and  adapted  to  the 
requirements  of  modern  life  than  our  own.  In 
the  second  place,  they  may  ask  themselves  whether 
she  is  not  right  in  considering  that  a  technical 
education,  which  is  based  on  a  sound  general 
secondary  education,  is  at  least  as  essential  to  the 
promotion  of  industry  as  that  which  is  based  on 
elementary  education,  and  designed  in  obedience 
to  a  fatal  affection  for  practical  "  short-cuts." 
We  may,  therefore,  before  considering  what  Ger- 
many has  done  for  the  technical  education  of 
those  who  do  not  pass  through  the  secondary 
school,  glance  at  her  great  technical  schools. 

The  first  of  these,  the  Collegium  Carolinum, 
103 


Technical  High  Schools 

now  the  Technical  High  School  of  Brunswick,  was 
founded  in  1745,  and  is  the  oldest  technical  insti- 
tution in  Germany.  In  successive  chronological 
order  follow  :  Freiberg  (1765),  Clausthal  (1775), 
Karlsruhe  (1825).  Darmstadt  (1826),  Munich 
(1827),  Dresden  (1828),  Stuttgart  (1829),  Hannover 
(1831),  Aachen  (1865);  Charlottenburg  was  created 
by  the  union  of  two  existing  establishments  in 
1882.  It  is  thus  seen  that  Germany  had  arrived 
at  an  appreciation  of  the  value  of  higher  technical 
education  before  we  had  conceived  of  its  existence. 
The  Central  Technical  College  of  the  City  and 
Guilds  of  London  Institute,  the  only  institution  in 
England  which  can  in  any  way  pretend  to  be  on 
the  same  plane  as  the  German  High  Schools,  was 
not  opened  until  1884. 

It  has  been  said  that  these  institutions  are  of 
university  grade.  Indeed,  many  of  them  may  be 
regarded  as  universities  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the 
term.  They  adopt,  in  many  cases,  university  or- 
ganization, and  that  view  of  the  benefits  of  general 
culture  which  in  many  countries  is  peculiar  to  the 
universities  among  higher  educational  institutions. 
On  an  earlier  page  the  saying  of  the  director  of 
one  of  these  schools  as  to  the  value  of  general 
culture  and  of  a  basis  of  "humanistic,"  as  opposed 
to  "  real  "  studies,  has  been  quoted  with  reference 
to  the  danger  of  isolating  the  technical  student 
from  the  ideal  interests  of  society.  How  far  these 
104 


Technical  High  Schools. 

institutions  have  succeeded  in  rising  to  the  level 
of  the  universities  may  be  judged  from  one  fact : 
in  several  of  the  States  they  share  with  the  latter 
institutions  the  privilege  of  preparing  for  their 
professions  teachers  of  mathematics  and  natural 
science  in  secondary  schools.  In  connection  with 
the  Technical  High  School  in  Stuttgart,  the  four 
Commissioners  referred  to  above  say — 

"  It  is  noteworthy  that  the  instruction  given  in 
the  Chemical  Institute  is  exactly  of  the  same  kind 
as  that  given  in  the  universities,  and,  although  a 
special  feature  of  the  teaching  and  of  the  equip- 
ment is  the  prominence  given  to  electrolysis  and 
to  electro-chemistry  generally,  no  attempt  is  made 
in  these  new  laboratories  to  teach  chemistry  in  its 
application  to  special  industries,  that  part  of  the 
instruction  being  provided  for  in  the  main  Poly- 
technic building." 

Professor  Paulsen,  of  the  University  of  Berlin, 
in  his  brilliant  history  of  the  education  which 
prepares  in  Germany  for  the  learned  professions, 
remarks,  in  reference  to  the  higher  scientific  train- 
ing afforded  by  the  Technical  High  Schools  : — 
"There  will  again  come  a  time  when  in  this 
connection  it  will  be  asked  :  of  what  is  a  man 
capable  ?  rather  than,  at  what  school  did  he  study  ? 
The  spirit  of  'guild  exclusiveness'  (Zunftlerei),  by 
which  public  instruction  has  been  led  astray,  will 
not  last  for  ever." 

As  the  Technical  High  Schools  have  drawn 
105 


Technical  High  Schools. 

nearer  to  the  university  standard,  they  have 
naturally  demanded  higher  general  attainments 
from  the  candidates  presenting  themselves  for  ad- 
mission to  their  courses  of  instruction.  And  now, 
with  practically  no  exceptions,  such  candidates 
are  obliged  to  produce  the  Certificate  of  Maturity 
of  a  Gymnasium,  Realgymnasium,  or  Oberreal- 
schule  (see  p.  St,).  At  the  outset,  however,  almost 
all  of  these  schools  seem  to  have  had  somewhat 
the  same  aim  as  that  which  occupies  the  attention 
of  the  authorities  founding  technical  schools  in 
England  to-day.  Indeed,  had  not  Germany  per- 
ceived, as  we  do  not  yet  seem  to  have  perceived, 
the  necessity  for  organizing  and  developing  her 
secondary  education,  her  Technical  High  Schools 
would  never  have  been  capable  of  the  high 
achievements  now  demanded  of  them.  The  growth 
of  these  institutions  may  be  shown  by  a  brief 
account  of  the  building  up  of  the  superb  Royal 
Technical  High  School  of  Charlottenburg. 

This  institution  has  been  formed  from  the  union 
of  the  Berlin  Architectural  Academy  and  the 
Industrial  Academy.  The  School  of  Architecture 
was  founded  in  1799.  The  conditions  of  admission 
at  the  outset  were  :  that  the  candidates  should 
not  be  less  than  fourteen  years  old,  and  should 
have  an  elementary  knowledge  of  Latin  and 
French,  and  some  acquaintance  with  mathematics. 
The  results  of  the  teaching,  however,  were  at  first 
106 


Charlottenburg. 

disappointing,  owing  to  the  want  of  general  culture 
displayed  by  the  students;  and  in  iSoi  it  was 
decreed  that  candidates  for  admission  must  have 
passed  through  the  greater  part  of  the  course  of 
instruction  provided  by  the  gymnasium.  Gradually 
the  curriculum  was  extended  and  raised  in 
standard,  and  the  conditions  of  admission  were 
made  more  severe.  In  1876,  all  candidates  who 
purposed  presenting  themselves,  at  the  close  of 
their  course  of  studies,  for  the  examination  ad- 
mitting to  employment  in  the  State  service  were 
obliged,  on  entering  the  school,  to  hold  the  Cer- 
tificate of  Maturity  of  a  Gymnasium  or  a  Real- 
schule  of  the  first  grade  (see  p.  83).  Certificates 
from  schools  of  a  lower  grade  were  accepted  from 
those  who  did  not  intend  entering  the  service  of 
the  State.  At  this  date  the  school  was  under  the 
direction  of  the  Minister  of  Commerce. 

The  Industrial  Academy,  on  the  other  hand, 
originated  in  a  technical  school  founded  in  1821, 
for  the  purpose  "  of  providing  young  manufacturers 
and  mechanics,  not  only  with  general  culture  and 
an  insight  into  the  things  which  it  is  necessary 
for  every  artisan  to  know,  but  also  with  as  much 
preliminary  knowledge  as  is  requisite  for  the 
ordinary  carrying  on  of  a  technical  trade."  The 
conditions  of  admission  were  much  the  same 
as  those  for  the  Architectural  School,  but  the 
candidates  had  to  be  not  less  than  twelve  and  not 
107 


Charlottenburg. 

more  than  sixteen  years  of  age.  The  school 
opened  with  thirteen  pupils  and  four  teachers. 
In  1850  the  limits  of  the  age  of  admission  were 
raised  to  seventeen  and  twenty-seven,  and  the 
certificate  of  a  secondary  school  was  demanded 
for  admission.  In  1866,  by  a  royal  decree  the 
title  was  changed  to  that  of  Industrial  Academy  ; 
and  in  1871,  owing  to  the  high  standard  to  which 
it  had  then  attained,  it  was  recognized,  by  another 
royal  decree,  as  a  technical  High  School.  At 
this  date  it  also  was  under  the  control  of  the 
Minister  of  Commerce. 

In  1876  these  two  institutions  resembled  one 
another  so  closely,  in  their  organization  and  their 
aims,  that  their  union  was  considered  advisable  by 
the  Government.  In  the  technological  branches  the 
Architectural  School  taught  only  Architecture  and 
Engineering  in  its  application  to  structures,  and 
the  Industrial  Academy  only  Mechanical  Engineer- 
ing, Chemistry,  and  Metallurgy  ;  but  in  both 
schools  the  same  teachers  were  in  charge  of  similar 
courses  of  Mathematics  and  other  subjects  of  general 
instruction  indispensable  as  a  basis  for  the  techno- 
logical branches.  If  only  on  account  of  this  common 
element,  much  was  to  be  gained  educationally  and 
economically  by  uniting  the  two  institutions  in 
one  building  and  under  one  direction.  As  the 
former  then  numbered  1085  students,  and  the 
latter  659,  it  was  no  small  undertaking  to  provide 

108 


Charlottenburg. 

a  building  of  adequate  size,  and  at  the  same  time 
containing  all  the  necessary  equipment  for  such 
a  wide  course  of  technical  studies  as  would  be 
demanded.  As  a  preliminary  step,  the  two 
institutions  were  formally  united  in  1879,  under 
the  title  of  Technical  High  School,  and  the  new 
building  was  commenced  about  the  same  time. 

The  British  Royal  Commissions  on  Technical 
Instruction  stated,  in  its  Report  of  1884,  that  the 
Commissioners  visited  the  new  buildings  in  progress 
at  Charlottenburg.  The  cost,  they  said,  "  is  esti- 
mated at  ;^450,ooo,  and  when  it  is  remembered  that 
the  number  of  students  has  been  for  some  years 
past  on  the  decrease,  having  fallen  from  1400  to  800, 
the  object  of  this  vast  outlay  is  difficult  to  under- 
stand." The  Prussians  were  not,  however,  making 
a  mistake,  as  the  Commissioners  feared.  The 
new  school  was  opened  in  1884  with  887  students  ; 
during  the  next  year  the  numbers  rose  to  1030, 
and  have  gone  on  increasing  ever  since,  until,  in 
1899,  they  reached  the  total  of  3428.  Being  a 
technical  High  School,  it  is  under  the  Minister  of 
Public  Instruction,  and  no  longer  controlled  by 
the  Minister  of  Commerce, 

The  growth  of  the  Charlottenburg  School  has 
been  so  rapid  that  it  is  difficult  for  English  educa- 
tional literature  to  keep  pace  with  it.  For  instance, 
the  Manchester  Technical  School — to  which,  by 
the  way,  English  educationists  are  under  a  heavy 
109 


Charlottenburg. 

debt  for  enlightenment  on  the  doings  of  foreign 
countries  and  English  needs — sent  a  deputation  to 
the  Continent  in  1891,  which  visited  this  school. 
In  its  report,  this  deputation  observed  : — 

"  The  school  is  said  to  be  arranged  for  the  accom- 
modatioa  of  2000  students.  There  are  now  1600, 
and  this  number  appears  to  be  in  excess  of  the 
resources  of  the  start,  as  double  courses  of  lectures 
are  being  given.  The  returns  for  the  previous 
winter  session,  1889-90,  give  1457  as  the  total 
number  of  regular  and  occasional  students,  tne 
former  amountmg  to  1043,*  Ot  the  total,  176  are 
foreigners,  10  of  whom  are  Englishmen.  The 
regular  students  are  distributed  as  loUows  : — 

Architecture 208 

Engineering  applied  to  Structures 210 

Mechanical  Engineering 358 

Shipbuilding 142 

Chemistry  and  Metallurgy 145 

The  significance  of  these  figures  may  be  best 
understood  by  comparmg  them  with  the  numbers 
in  the  respective  departments  of  any  English 
scientific  institution  of  high  rank." 

The  report  then  proceeds  to  give  a  description 
of  the  building,  which  it  describes  as  "  of  the  most 
sumptuous  character  .  .  .  and  standing  in  a  wood- 
land   park."      "  It  is,"  the    report  says,   "  750  feet 

•  1063,  according  to  the  figures  in  the  following  table ;  the  differ- 
ence might  be  satisfactorily  explained  in  several  ways. 

ilO 


Charlottenburg. 

long  and  294  feet  deep,  and  has  three  floors  above 
the  basement."  * 

Some  of  the  additions  and  improvements  which 

*  The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  description  of  the  school 
given  in  the  report  of  this  deputation  ;— 

"  There  is  a  Mechanical  Workshop  connected  with  the  school. 
.  .  .  Here  models,  apparatus,  etc.,  are  made  for  use  in  the  Lecture 
Rooms,  and  work  is  done  in  maintenance  of  the  collections.  .  .  . 
The  Library  contains  52,000  volumes,  and  copies  of  230  current 
technological  journals.  The  issues  to  students  are  at  the  rate  of 
1000  volumes  per  day.  .  .  .  The  rooms  are  mostly  26  feet  wide,  and 
have  behind  them  a  corridor  11  feet  6  inches  in  width.  A  range  of 
rooms  runs  along  each  front  and  the  two  ends.  Other  rooms  run 
from  front  to  back,  across  the  intervening  space  of  75  feet,  as  well 
as  two  main  staircases,  thus  dividing  it  into  five  courts.  Four  of 
these  are  open,  but  the  centre  one — 75  feet  by  75  feet,  with  an 
arcade  round  it — is  roofed  in,  and  forms  a  handsome  central  hall 
for  the  display  of  large  objects,  busts,  and  statues.  The  chief 
entrance  is  wide  and  roomy.  Its  vaulted  ceiling  is  carried  by  eight 
piers,  and  right  and  left  of  the  entrance  are  model  rooms.  The 
administrative  department  is  at  the  rear,  on  the  first  floor.  There 
is  also,  on  the  first  floor  over  the  entrance,  a  fine  'Aula'  or  Hall, 
for  State  occasions,  the  Award  of  Prizes,  etc.,  which  is  88  feet  by 
56  feet. 

"  A  magnificent  Library,  150  feet  by  26  feet,  and  a  Reading-room, 
beautifully  fitted  up,  87  feet  by  26  feet,  are  on  the  second  floor.  There 
is,  in  the  Library,  a  gallery  formed  of  iron  grids  laid  on  girders,  to 
give  access  to  the  upper  ranges  of  books.  The  whole  of  the  remain- 
ing rooms  are  disposed  as  class-rooms,  lecture-rooms,  professors' 
rooms,  etc. 

"  The  Chemical  Laboratories  are  carried  on  in  a  plain  building 
of  stone,  separate  from  but  near  to  the  Technical  High  School,  and 
under  its  general  direction. 

"The  building  is  219  ft.  by  199  ft.,  three  storeys  high,  with  a 
front  and  rear  range  of  rooms,  and  three  cross  wings  enclosing  two 
courts. 

"  There  are  five  Inorganic  Laboratories  for  83  students ;  three 
Organic  for  63  students  ;  two  Technical  Laboratories ;  besides 
several  private  Laboratories  for  the  teachers." 

Ill 


Charlottenburg. 

have  been  made  since  their  visit  may  now  be 
mentioned.  In  1891  the  need  for  electrical  in- 
struction had  become  so  great  that  courses  were 
established  on  "  Telegraphy,  with  special  relation 
to  the  direction  of  railways  ;  "  courses  on  other 
branches  of  electrical  technology  were  started 
in  1892  and  1897.  In  the  latter  year  special 
classes  were  started  on  Shipbuilding.  In  1897 
and  1898  the  sum  of  £7^^^^  was  spent  on  the 
additional  equipment  of  the  Electro-Technical 
School  necessitated  by  these  new  classes.  At  the 
same  time  a  new  Lecture  Hall  to  seat  300,  and 
a  new  Laboratory  to  accommodate  350,  were  built. 
In  1895  an  Electro-Chemical  Laboratory  was 
built,  at  an  expense  of  about  ^Sooo.  In  1896  a 
Laboratory  devoted  to  the  purposes  of  Mechanical 
Engineering  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  ^8045.  In 
1898  the  task  was  commenced  of  lighting  the 
building  by  electricity,  at  an  estimated  cost  of 
;^i  1,350.  So  great  had  become  the  number  of 
students  attending  the  Mechanical  Engineering 
section,  that  it  became  necessary  in  1898  to  erect 
a  provisional  Lecture  Hall,  to  seat  400  persons  ; 
and  in  1899  it  was  proposed  to  enlarge  the  whole 
building,  at  a  cost  of  over  ^^50,000.  The  depart- 
ment of  Naval  Construction  has  received  special 
attention,  and  now  numbers  240  students  ;  ^^"1500 
was  spent  on  its  improvement  in  1899.  In  1897 
a  large  lecture  room  for  Experimental  Physics  was 

112 


Charlottenburg. 

built,  at  a  cost  of  ^^"3200.  In  1897  ;^iioo  was 
expended  on  the  improvement  of  the  Machine 
Testing  Section.  The  sums  here  mentioned  as 
having  been  actually  spent  amount  to  over 
;^40,ooo,  which  does  not  represent  the  total  ex- 
penditure on  the  improvement  of  the  Charlotten- 
burg School  since  the  deputation  visited  it  in 
1891. 

In  the  winter  session  of  1897-98  there  were 
attached  to  the  school  325  professors,  lecturers, 
and  assistants,  and  55  private  tutors,  thus  showing 
an  increase  of  239  in  the  first  division  and  25  in 
the  second  since  the  visit  of  the  Manchester 
deputation. 

The  balance-sheet  of  the  school  shows,  in  1900, 
an  income  of  ;^2 1,290,  and  an  expenditure  of 
;^5 5,300.  The  difference  is  paid  by  the  State.  A 
student's  fees  amount  roughly  to  ;{J'i5  a  year. 

If  there  is  any  connection  between  technical 
education  and  industrial  prosperity,  the  progress 
which  has  been  made  by  the  Charlottenburg 
Technical  High  School  during  the  last  ten  years — 
a  progress  with  which  other  similar  institutions  in 
Germany  have  kept  pace — must,  indeed,  strike  dis- 
may into  those  who  fear  for  the  industry  of  England. 
During  this  period  we  can  point  to  no  similar  pro- 
gress in  any  one  institution.  We  have  been  content 
to  spend  our  resources  on  that  kind  of  technical 
education  which  does  not  demand  preliminary 
113 


Conditions  of  Admission. 

training  in  the  secondary  school.  But  the  one 
thing  that  is  necessary  to  obtain  admission  to  the 
German  Technical  High  School  is  the  certificate 
of  maturity  of  a  Gymnasium,  Realgymnasium  or 
Oberrealschule,  that  is  to  say,  evidence  of  having 
passed  through  a  nine  years'  course  of  secondary 
education,  and  of  having,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
appointed  authorities,  duly  profited  therefrom.  It 
is  only  on  such  a  basis  as  this  that  it  is  possible  to 
acquire  that  higher  scientific  training  which  Ger- 
many believes  to  be  essential  for  the  development 
of  her  manufacturing  industries.  It  is  needless  to 
say  that  we  cannot  succeed  in  providing  such 
training  until  we  have  provided  the  basis.  In 
this  matter,  at  any  rate,  v/hatever  explanation  may 
be  offered  for  the  differences  between  the  English 
and  German  branches  of  education,  we  are  nearly 
fifty  years  behind  Germany  ;  or,  in  other  words,  if 
we  follow  at  the  present  rate  that  line  of  develop- 
ment which  we  have  adopted,  in  about  fifty  years 
from  hence  we  shall  have  higher  technical  schools, 
as  advanced  as  are  to-day  those  which  Germany 
possesses.  To  what  standard  the  German  schools 
will  have  then  attained  no  one  dare  venture  to 
prophesy.  But,  of  course,  this  calculation  alto- 
gether ignores  the  fact  that  it  may  be  impossible 
for  us  to  maintain  our  industry — one  of  the 
greatest  sources  of  our  wealth — against  foreign 
competition,  if  we  lag  behind  in  our  education  for 

114 


Statistics  of  Technical  High  Schools. 

that  length  of  time.  It  would  therefore  appear 
that  there  is  very  urgent  need  of  our  adopting  the 
plan  which  was  proposed  by  Matthew  Arnold 
many  years  ago,  and  of  our  providing  the  basis 
for  higher  technical  education  by  organizing  our 
secondary  education. 

The  following  table  gives  some  details  as  to  the 
other  Technical  High  Schools  of  Germany  : — 


Town  and  County. 

Date  of 
Founda- 
tion. 

Number  of 

Students  in 

1896. 

Expendi- 
tures. 

Aachen,  Prussia 

1865 
1799 
1831 
1827 
1828 
1829 
1825 
1826 
1745 

2,693 
l.IOI 

1,757 
905 
910 
996 

1,178 
399 

;^  1 2, 509 
61,559 
21,676 
24,410 
23,046 

17,574 
21,420 
21,991 
10,418 

Berlin,  Prussia 

Hanover,  Prussia 

Munich,  Bavaria 

Stuttgart,  Wiirtemberg 

Darmstadt,  Hesse-Darmstadt. 
Brunswick,  Brunswick 

That  the  State  has  been  able  to  bring,  through 
the  Technical  High  Schools,  the  highest  scientific 
knowledge  and  training  to  bear,  with  such  mar- 
vellous and  startling  results,  upon  the  promotion 
of  national  industry,  is  due  mainly  to  its  careful 
selection  of  the  fittest,  or  rather  rejection  of  the 
unfit,  in  the  secondary  and  other  stages.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  point  out  that  the  selection  of 
the  fittest  in  the  different  stages  of  education  would 
be  impossible,  if  the  whole  system  were  not  under 
9  U5 


Technical  Education  and  Instruction. 

the  control  of  an  enlightened  Ministry  of  Education 
— enlightened  in  the  sense  that  it  is  not  composed 
of  men  possessing  clerical  ability  alone,  nor  even 
of  those  who  owe  their  appointment  merely  to  a 
brilliant  academic  career,  but  of  men  who  have 
distinguished  themselves  in  the  teaching  profession 
itself. 

Owing  to  this  process  of  selection,  there  is 
evidently  a  large  number  of  individuals  who  leave 
the  State  system  at  the  elementary  stage  ;  that  is 
to  say,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  when  they  have 
reached  the  limit  of  compulsory  education.  And 
it  must  not  be  imagined  that,  because  Germany  has 
perceived  the  value  of  the  highest  kind  of  technical 
education — with  a  foresight  of  which  neither 
England  nor  France  seem  to  be  possessed — she 
has  on  that  account  neglected  to  provide  instruction 
for  those  who  are  to  be  the  privates  and  non- 
commissioned officers  in  her  industrial  army.  It 
is  true  that,  with  her  deep  appreciation  of  the 
scientific  principles  underlying  education,  she  has 
drawn  a  sharp  distinction  between  education,  in 
the  fullest  meaning  of  the  term,  and  instruction. 

Education,  as  we  have  seen,  is  concerned  with 
the  period  of  adjustment  or  dependence.  As  the 
lower  animals  develop  more  rapidly  than  man,  and 
consequently  reach  the  stage  of  complete  adjust- 
ment at  an  earlier  age,  so  among  men,  those  who 
possess  a  lower  order  of  intelligence  develop  more 
116 


Technical  Instruction. 

rapidly  mentally,  within  their  own  narrower  circle, 
than  those  who  belong  to  a  higher  order.  Conse- 
quently the  stage  of  complete  adjustment  to,  and 
therefore  of  self-dependence  in,  their  more  restricted 
environment  is  attained  by  such  people  at  an 
earlier  age.  For  them,  accordingly,  education  *  is 
no  longer  necessary,  or  indeed  possible.  They 
may,  however,  naturally  benefit  from  further 
courses  of  instruction. 

Making  allowance  for  the  failings  common  to 
all  human  government,  Germany  has  adapted  her 
educational  system  to  the  above  conditions,  cer- 
tainly more  wisely  and  consistently  than  any  other 
nation.  Honestly  endeavouring  in  the  interests 
of  the  nation  to  make  the  most,  irrespective  of 
class  distinctions,  of  the  intellectual  forces  of  her 
people,  she  has  spared  no  expense  to  provide  an 
education  unequalled  in  any  country  in  its  adapta- 
tion to  the  intellectual  development  of  her  children. 
And  she  has  done  this  although,  or  perhaps  it 
would  be  more  true  to  say  because,  she  is  poor 
compared  with  her  foreign  rivals.  Outside  her 
State  system  of  education,  and  apart  from  it,  she 
has  provided — generally  through  the  Ministry  of 
Commerce  and  Industry  and  local  initiative,  rather 

•  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  throughout  the  whole  of  this 
work  the  term  education  is  used,  except  when  otherwise  stated,  in 
its  narrower  sense,  as  referring  to  that  part  of  education  which  can 
be  provided  by  the  school. 

117 


Continuation  Schools. 

than  through  the  Ministry  of  Education  and  the 
Central  Government — courses  of  supplementary- 
instruction  for  those  who  have  attained  to  self- 
dependence  at  an  earlier  age  than  their  more 
highly  endowed  countrymen. 

An  Imperial  Law,  affecting  all  parts  of  Ger- 
many, forbids  the  employment  of  children  under 
seventeen  in  factories  and  workshops.  Hence 
arose  a  need  for  continuation  schools,  in  which 
children  leaving  the  elementary  school  at  the  age 
of  fourteen  might  not  only  be  prevented  from 
forgetting  what  they  had  already  learnt,  but  might 
be  taught  how  best  to  use  the  knowledge  they 
had  acquired  for  the  purposes  of  practical  life. 
The  Imperial  Law  on  the  "  Regulation  of  In- 
dustry"  of  1 891  decreed  that  the  masters  in  any 
branch  of  industry  were  bound  to  allow  their 
workers  under  the  age  of  eighteen  to  attend  an 
officially  recognized  continuation  school  (tech- 
nical or  non-technical),  for  the  time  fixed  as 
necessary  by  the  authorities.  Further,  by  the  same 
law,  it  was  ordained  that  the  Local  Council  might 
make  such  attendance  at  a  continuation  school 
obligatory,  for  all  male  workers  under  the  age  of 
eighteen.  There  is  consequently  a  great  variety 
of  educational  effort  in  this  direction  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  Germany.  In  the  case  of  the 
kingdom  of  Saxony,  the  State  has  made  attend- 
ance at  the  continuation  schools  compulsory,  and 

118 


Continuation  Schools. 

several  other  States  have  followed  the  example 
of  Saxony. 

The  Saxon  system  is,  in  this  section,  perhaps 
the  most  efficient  and  the  best  organized.  Here 
there  are  two  kinds  of  continuation  schools,  those 
providing  technical  instruction,  and  those  which 
offer  a  continuation  of  general  education  —  a 
general  course  in  which  the  practice  of  any  trade 
or  profession  is  not  taught.*  In  the  first  volume 
of  the  English  Education  Department's  "  Special 
Reports  on  Educational  Subjects,"  Mr.  F.  H.  Dale 
has  given  an  admirable  description  of  the  con- 
tinuation schools  of  Saxony.  His  report  does  not 
seem  to  have  received  the  attention  which  both 
the  subject  and  his  treatment  of  it  deserve.  The 
following  account  of  these  schools  is  based  mainly 
on  the  information  provided  by  Mr.  Dale. 

The  Saxon  authorities  believe  that  compulsory 
attendance  is  essential  in  the  case  of  these  con- 
tinuation schools.  "  Boys  of  the  poorer  classes 
cannot  be  expected,"  says  one  of  the  leading 
German  authorities  on  this  question,  "  at  the  age 
of  fourteen,  when  just  free  from  the  elementary 
school,  to  see  by  their  own  unaided  intelligence, 
the  advantages  of  continuing  or  reviving  their 
knowledge."      And,   adds  Mr.   Dale,   "  the  growth 

*  And  in  this  connection  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  provision 
for  secondary  education  is  not  as  great,  in  proportion  to  the  popula- 
tion, in  Saxony  as  in  Prussia. 


Compulsory  Attendance. 

of  trade,  the  improvements  in  the  manufactures 
on  the  one  hand,  the  importance  of  the  mass  of 
the  people  in  the  Government  on  the  other,  both 
demand  an  increased  intelligence  and  a  wider 
knowledge  ;  and  such  knowledge  can  no  longer 
be  confined  to  a  few  ;  it  must  be  made  universal, 
as  universal  as  work  and  the  right  of  voting  ;  and 
continuation  schools  can  alone  supply  this  defect, 
otherwise  irremediable." 

There  are  many  reasons  why  the  same  difficulty 
is  not  experienced  in  a  German  State  as  would 
be  encountered  in  England,  in  making  attendance 
at  these  schools  compulsory.  Where  the  necessity 
of  discipline,  more  particularly  on  behalf  of 
the  military  defence  of  the  Fatherland,  has  been 
admitted  by  all  classes  of  the  people,  and  where  the 
State  has  shown  itself  competent  to  provide  this 
discipline  in  such  a  way  as  has  led  to  a  great 
increase  of  national  prosperity,  it  is  natural  that 
the  people  should  be  willing  to  surrender  for  a 
period  their  right  to  independent  action,  in  favour 
of  new  disciplinary  measures  instituted  by  the 
State.  But  here  again  we  are  brought  face  to 
face  with  the  fundamental  reason  for  Germany's 
success  in  building  up  a  national  system  of 
education.  External  opposition  has  taught  her 
to  place  love  of  country  before  that  desire  for 
individual  liberty,  based  on  what  must  be  called 
love  of  self. 

1 20 


Hours  of  Attendance. 

These  continuation  schools  come  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  local  or  district  council,  and  therefore 
adapt  themselves,  as  it  is  necessary  that  they 
should,  to  local  needs,  which  may  be  either  agri- 
cultural, commercial,  or  industrial.  The  schools 
in  the  country  districts,  which  do  not  directly 
affect  the  question  with  which  we  are  dealing  in 
these  pages,  are  generally  open  for  half  the  year 
only  ;  the  summer  being  a  busy  time  for  all 
engaged  in  practical  occupations.  In  about  two- 
thirds  of  all  the  schools,  however,  instruction  is 
given  throughout  the  whole  year ;  the  minimum 
number  of  hours  which  they  must  devote  to  in- 
struction is  fixed  by  law  at  two  per  week  ;  but  it 
may  be  raised  to  as  much  as  six.  As  showing 
that  factors  enter  into  foreign  education  which  are 
strange  to  English  people,  it  is  interesting  to 
notice  that  either  the  evening  of  a  week-day  or 
Sunday  may  be  used  for  instruction  in  the  con- 
tinuation schools.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  nearly 
half  the  schools  in  Saxony  use  the  Sunday,  though 
they  may  not  employ  hours  which  would  interfere 
with  the  attendance  of  the  pupils  at  Divine  service. 
But,  with  regard  to  the  hours  of  instruction, 
the  greatest  consideration  is  shown  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  different  trades.  Mr.  Dale  tells  us 
that  at  Zittau,  for  instance,  *'  the  scholars  are  for 
the  most  part  first  divided  into  classes  according 
to  their  trades,  and  then,  by  agreement  with  the 

121 


Subjects  of  Instruction. 

employers,  a  convenient  time  is  fixed,  different  in 
each  case,  e.g.  locksmiths  attend  on  Monday,  from 
one  to  four ;  those  employed  in  hardware  business, 
on  Tuesday,  from  one  to  four ;  butchers  on  Tues- 
day, from  two  to  five,  etc."  A  number  of  these 
schools  charge  a  fee  varying  from  one  to  six 
shillings  a  year. 

As  to  the  nature  of  the  instruction  given  in 
these  schools,  the  Saxon  Ministry  states  in  its 
syllabus  that  "  the  instruction  in  the  continuation 
schools  should  fix  and  widen  the  knowledge  won 
in  the  primary  school ;  it  should  enable  the  scholar 
to  perceive  the  direct  relation  of  this  knowledge  to 
his  daily  life,  and  teach  him  to  apply  it  in  his 
calling  as  a  workman." 

It  is  owing  in  a  very  large  measure  to  com- 
pulsory attendance,  that  this  aim  can  be  achieved  ; 
for  experience  has  taught  us  in  England  that 
the  majority  of  boys  do  not  awaken  to  an  appre- 
ciation of  the  benefits  of  the  continuation  school 
until  they  have  reached  the  age  of  twenty,  when 
they  have  forgotten  most,  if  not  all,  of  what  they 
learnt  in  the  primary  school  seven  or  eight  years 
earlier.  In  Saxony,  however,  the  continuation 
school,  in  the  lull  significance  of  the  term,  is  a 
reality,  and  does  not  only  exist  in  codes  and 
blue-books.  The  district  council  is  allowed  to 
select  the  subjects  of  instruction,  and  there  is 
now  no  code  enforcing  uniformity.     At  Leipzig, 

122 


Subjects  of  Instruction. 

indeed,  employers  of  pupils  are  invited  to  sit 
on  the  school  committee,  and  help  the  teachers 
with  their  advice.  In  every  case,  the  instruction 
is  adapted  to  the  special  requirements  of  the 
district.  We  have,  in  short,  in  these  schools  a 
happy  compromise  between  the  utilitarian,  or 
"practical,"  and  the  educational  idea.  For  in- 
stance, the  Saxon  code  points  out  the  lamentable 
want  on  the  part  of  masters  and  foremen,  who 
have  money  under  their  charge,  of  business  habits 
and  training-.  To  correct  this,  the  teaching  of 
arithmetic,  for  instance,  in  Leipzig,  is  carried  out 
with  a  view  to  the  future  practical  needs  of  the 
pupils  ;  the  examples  taken  always  treat  of  sums 
of  money  and  the  currencies  which  may  be  reason- 
ably supposed  to  be  common  in  the  trade.  To 
quote  again  from  Mr.  Dale's  paper :  "  I  heard," 
he  says,  "...  a  teacher  explain  to  the  boys  the 
method  in  which  they  might  learn  from  the  news- 
paper what  was  the  current  rate  of  interest  for 
money,  and  the  use  of  banks  as  the  best  loan 
offices.  Nobody,  I  think,  could  question  the  value 
of  this  information  to  boys  who  might  some  day 
be  small  tradesmen,  or  doubt  how  often  the  lack 
of  such  knowledge  has  offered  facilities  for  extor- 
tionate usury." 

The  syllabus  may  also  be  quoted  of  the  lessons 
on    the    general    nature  of   the    carpenter's    trade 
planned  for  one  of  the  classes  at  Leipzig. 
123 


specimen  Syllabus. 

First  Year. — Easter  to  Whitsuntide. 

(a)  Kinds  of  timber  used  in  carpentering ;  the 
parts  of  a  tree-trunk.  A  short  description  of  a 
tree  (yearly  rings,  the  bark,  etc.). 

(d)  The  physical  and  technical  qualities  of  timber 
(its  external  form,  specific  weight,  hardness,  tex- 
ture, smell,  colour,  etc.),  illustrated  by  timber  used 
in  Germany. 

Whitsuntide  to  the  Summer  Holidays. 

{c)  The  various  kinds  of  flaws  in  timber:  now 
distinguished. 

{d)  The  insects  injurious  to  timber. 

Summer  Holidays  to  Michaelmas. 

{e)  Description  of  the  most  important  kinds  of 
timber  used  for  carpentering  purposes  (the  larch, 
cypress,  cedar,  etc.).  With  the  description  of  each 
its  price  was  given  ;  the  countries,  mountains,  etc., 
chiefly  noted  for  its  growth,  and  the  most  im- 
portant towns  which  employed  it  in  manufacture, 
were  mentioned. 

{/)  The  instruments  employed  to  bind  together 
parts  of  the  timber  (clamps,  nails,  etc.),  and  their 
prices. 

{g)  The  materials  useful  for  beautifying  the 
surface  of  timber  (oil,  cement,  etc.),  and  their 
prices. 

Michaelmas  to  Christinas. 

(h)  The  principal  tools  and  machines  employed 
in  woodwork,  how  long  they  should  last,  and  their 
price  ;  the  strength  necessary  for  working  them  ; 
the  space  they  occupy,  etc. 

124 


specimen  Syllabus. 

This  lesson  was  accompanied  by  a  visit  to  the 
Exhibition  of  Industrial  Appliances  and  Products 
(Gevverbe   Ausstellung). 

Christmas  to  Easter. 

(i)  Erection  of  a  workroom  for  five  men  (space 
required,  ventilation,  lighting,  division  of  the  tools, 
machines,  etc.). 

{k)  A  few  points  from  the  history  of  the  growth 
of  the  trade.  The  system  of  apprenticeship,  and 
of  guilds.  The  movement  for  the  freedom  of  the 
workers.  The  most  important  regulations  from 
the  laws  as  they  exist  at  present  on  the  position 
of  the  workmen. 

Seco7id  Year. 

For  this  year  no  detailed  programme  is  given  : 

"  It  was  devoted,"  says  the  syllabus,  "  to  the  more 
special  points  concerning  the  trade  ;  especially  to 
questions  involved  in  the  starting  of  a  business  for 
one's  self.  In  this  connexion  were  mentioned  the 
need  for  raw  material  (its  mass,  weight,  price, 
according  to  the  magnitude  of  orders  to  be  ex- 
ecuted), the  time  necessary  under  various  imagined 
conditions,  the  number  of  assistants  to  be  em- 
ployed, the  customary  wages,  the  fixed  and  circu- 
lating capital  required,  etc." 

It  must  be  repeated  that  the  instruction  in 
these  schools  is  in  no  way  technical  in  the  common 
acceptance  of  the  term.  There  is  no  practical 
work  done  by  the  pupils.  The  aim  of  the  in- 
struction is,  again  to  quote  Mr.  Dale,  "to  give 
the  boys  information  on  points  likely  to  be 
12!; 


Statistics  of  Continuation  Schools. 

exceedingly  useful  to  them,  especially  in  the 
case  of  a  wish  to  start  in  business  themselves ; 
and  these  details,  e.g.  the  relations  of  master  and 
employe,  the  cost  of  a  workroom,  its  proper 
fittings  to  correspond  with  a  certain  amount  of 
capital,  etc.,  would  hardly,  if  at  all,  be  touched 
upon  in  a  school  where  the  cultivation  of  manual 
skill  is  bound  to  be  the  chief  object."  How  far 
instruction  of  this  nature  is  considered  more  useful 
than  practical  instruction  for  this  special  class  of 
pupils  may  be  shown  from  the  fact  that  in  1895-6 
Saxe-Weimar  had  452  continuation  schools  of  the 
general  type,  with  5152  scholars,  but  only  26 
technical  schools  with  about  2000  students.  The 
following  table  *  shows  the  proportion  of  the 
population  passing  through  the  continuation  school 
in  some  of  the  German  States  : — 


Number  of  Pupils  in  Continuation  Schools  to  every 
1000  Inhabitants, 


Wurtemberg 50 

Baden 35i 

Hesse-Darmstadt 34^ 

Saxony 285 

Waldeck 22.i 

Coburg-Gotha  22;^ 

Saxe-Weimar 22 

Saxe-Meiningen 2£ 

Schwarzburg  -  Sondershau- 

sen 20 

CityofLubeck 18 

Mecklenburg-Streliiz 14J 


City  of  Bremen , 

Scliwarzburg-Rudolstadt 

City  of  Hamburg 

Brunswick 

Mecklenburg-Schwerin  . . , 

Prussia 

Saxe-Altenburg 

Lippe 

Anhalt 

Oldenburg 

Schaumburg- Lippe 


10^ 

8.1 

1\ 

7 

7 

6i 

6 

5.\ 
51 
31 

2i 


*  Based  on  statistics  given    in    the    "  Report  of  tlie  American 
Commissioner  of  Education  for  the  year  1898-99." 

126 


Technical  Instruction. 

We  now  come  to  that  section  of  technical  and 
commercial  instruction  which  in  England  may  be 
said  to  be  regarded  as  more  important  than  the 
highest  technical  education.  This,  at  any  rate,  is  a 
fair  inference  from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  only  section 
to  which  we  have  devoted  any  special  attention, 
and  that  to  which  almost  the  whole  of  the  public 
moneys  devoted  to  technical  education  are  applied. 
The  chief  thing  that  Germany  has  to  teach  us  in  this 
branch  is  that  she  does  not  consider  it  of  as  great 
importance  as  the  highest  scientific  education  such 
as  we  have  seen  is  given  at  Charlottenburg, 

The  Gewerbe  Schulen  are  found  only  in  the 
large  industrial  centres.  They  are  chiefly  schools 
of  design,  having  both  a  day  and  evening  depart- 
ment, in  which  drawing  and  mathematics  occupy 
three-fifths  of  the  time-table.  Most  of  the  students 
are  apprentices,  so  that,  though  the  schools  have 
no  workshops,  it  continually  happens  that  a  master 
workman  encourages  his  apprentice  to  make 
models  in  the  shop  applying  the  principles  or 
ideas  which  he  has  learnt  or  developed  at  the 
school.  Side  by  side  with  these  institutions  are 
to  be  found  trade  schools,  in  which  trades  and 
industries  are  actually  taught.  A  higher  class 
of  this  type  of  school  is  seen  at  its  best  in  the 
magnificent  textile  school  of  Crefeld,  for  an 
excellent  account  of  which  we  are  again  indebted 
to  Manchester  educationists.  This  institution 
127 


Crefeld. 

possesses  an  evening  and  Sunday  department,  as 
well  as  a  day  school,  most  of  the  students  in 
which  have  passed  through  the  modern  secondary 
school.  In  this  instance,  as  in  many  others, 
Germany  may  be  said  to  beat  us  on  our  own 
ground.  Indeed,  so  complete  a  training  is  here 
given  in  every  branch  of  weaving,  dyeing,  and 
finishing,  that  not  a  few  Englishmen  who  have 
visited  this  school,  and  go  no  further,  are  under 
the  impression  that  it  provides  the  highest  kind  of 
technical  education  to  be  found  in  Germany. 

The  fees  for  day  students  vary  from  £6  to 
£()  in  a  session.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that 
a  large  proportion  of  the  pupils  attending  these 
trade  schools  have  passed  through  the  Ober- 
realschule  or  highest  grade  of  modern  secondary 
school.  The  Manchester  Committee  relate  one 
fact  in  connection  with  the  Crefeld  school  which 
should  be  brought  to  the  attention  of  those  who 
would  leave  everything  to  local  initiative  and  are 
opposed  to  any  form  of  central  control.  In  its 
report  the  Committee  says  : — 

"  It  is  interesting  to  note  with  what  discrimina- 
tion and  judgment  the  educational  authorities  of 
Prussia  pursue  their  objects.  The  authorities  at 
Crefeld  were  anxious  to  see  the  establishment, 
as  a  development  of  their  school,  of  a  department 
for  cotton  spinning ;  but  the  Royal  authority 
declined  to  give  effect  to  the  representations  made, 
and  expressed    their  determination    to    build  and 

128 


Crefeld. 

equip  such  a  school  in  the  centre  of  the  cotton 
industry  at  Gladbach  (also  in  Rhenish  Prussia). 
There  are  no  less  than  thirteen  schools  in  Prussia 
devoted  to  textile  training,  each  with  its  own 
peculiar  conditions.  This  enables  a  certain  elas- 
ticity and  variety  of  methods  to  be  established 
and  tried,  and  the  evils  of  undue  educational 
competition  and  rivalry,  which  are  to  be  found 
in  England,  and  which  go  so  far  to  prevent  the 
establishment  of  really  efficient  institutions  attended 
by  competent  students,  are  obviated." 

This  section  of  German  technical  education  has 
occupied  so  much  attention  in  England  that  there 
is  no  excuse  for  dealing  with  it  here  at  any  length. 
Mr.  James  Baker  has  lately  published,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Board  of  Education,  an  interest- 
ing account  of  the  impression  created  by  these 
schools  on  an  Englishman  who  is  neither  an 
industrial  nor  an  educational  expert — and  to 
whom,  therefore,  certain  points  of  organization  and 
aim  may  not  be  apparent — but  who  is  not  inflicted 
with  that  kind  of  patriotism  which  closes  the  eyes 
to  the  dangers  threatened  to  England  by  the 
rivalry  of  Germany.  The  following  table  *  will 
give  some  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  continuation 
school  system  in  all  its  branches  : — • 

*  liased  on  statistics  given  in  the  "Report  of  tlie  Ameri:aa 
Commissioner  of  Education  for  the  year  1898-99." 


129 


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130 


Commercial  Education. 

It  will  be  seen  that  a  considerable  number  of 
schools  in  the  above  table  offer  commercial  in- 
struction. From  what  has  been  said  above,  as  to 
the  nature  of  the  continuation  school,  it  may  be 
inferred  that  the  commercial  instruction  provided 
is  not  of  a  very  technical  kind.  Speaking  of  these 
commercial  schools  at  the  Congress  on  commercial 
education  held  at  Antwerp,  in  1898,  Dr.  Stegeman, 
who  has  done  much  for  the  promotion  of  commer- 
cial education  in  Germany,  remarked — 

"  Their  aim  is  to  give  to  future  business  men, 
while  they  are  undergoing  their  apprenticeship, 
a  certain  amount  of  theoretical  knowledge  as 
a  complement  to  their  office  work.  This  is  not 
their  sole  aim,  however ;  their  chief  function 
being  to  perfect  the  knowledge  which  has  been 
gained  in  the  elementary  school.  It  is  said  in 
Germany  that  a  young  business  man,  whose  ele- 
mentary information  is  imperfect,  who  cannot 
write  or  speak  his  mother-tongue  correctly,  who 
cannot  calculate  rapidly  and  accurately,  who  does 
not  write  a  good  and  legible  hand,  and  who  has 
not  some  general  notion  of  the  nature  of  the  earth's 
surface,  is  not  fit  to  be  in  business." 

There  has  recently  been  a  certain  agitation  in 
Germany  for  the  provision  of  a  more  specialized 
type  of  continuation  school,  and  various  com- 
mercial societies  seem  to  favour  their  pro- 
motion. But  for  the  training  of  business  men 
Germany  still  depends,  and,  as  far  as  it  is  safe  to 
10  131 


Commercial  Education. 

prophesy,  will  for  a  long  time  to  come  continue  to 
depend  on  her  Realschulen.  Mr.  Michael  E. 
Sadler,  in  his  report  on  higher  commercial  educa- 
tion,* remarks  in  this  connection  that  his  inquiries 
have  convinced  him  that  the  world  has  only  begun 
to  taste  the  effects  of  the  first-rate  non-classical 
secondary  education  now  given  all  over  industrial 
Germany.     He  adds — 

"The  commercial  advance  of  the  German 
Empire,  so  striking  to  any  visitor  to  that  country, 
is  due  to  a  combination  of  causes.  But  one  of 
these  causes  is  the  extreme  intellectual  efficiency 
of  the  secondary  schools  and  of  the  higher 
technical  institutes.  The  Germans  do  not  mix 
up  these  two  grades  of  educational  work.  The 
secondary  school  is  organized  as  the  foundation, 
the  higher  technical  institute  as  the  crown.  It  is 
to  the  non-technical  secondary  schools  and  to  the 
highly  specialized  technical  institutes,  far  more 
than  to  the  elementary  schools  or  evening  con- 
tinuation schools,  that  those  should  look  who 
desire  to  trace  the  educational  causes  of  the  com- 
mercial progress  of  the  German  Empire. 

"German  non-classical  secondary  education  pre- 
pares a  boy  to  excel  in  commercial  life,  but  it  is 
not  commercial  education  in  any  narrow  sense. 
Indeed,  the  German  secondary  school  authorities 
rigidly  abstain  on  principle  from  any  attempt  at 
premature  specialization  in  commercial  subjects," 

*  "Special  Reports  on  Educational  Subjects,"  vol.  3,  pp.  554- 
626,  This  report,  if  widely  read,  would  finally  dispel  the  many 
errors  which  have  arisen  in  England  concerning  the  question  of 
commercial  education. 


Germany  and  Premature  Specialization. 

So  much  has  already  been  said  as  to  the  German 
appreciation  of  the  scientific  principles  on  which 
education  is  based,  that  it  is  hardly  necessary 
to  remark  that  the  theories  put  forward  by  some 
of  the  English  advocates  of  commercial  edu- 
cation do  not  find  favour  in  that  more  en- 
h'ghtened  land.  Least  of  all  does  Germany  show 
any  sympathy  with  that  desire,  too  prevalent  in 
some  quarters,  to  build  up  a  secondary  system  of 
commercial  education  which  will  turn  clever  boys 
into  cheap  clerks.  A  country  which  has  looked 
far  ahead,  and  seen  the  ever-increasing  intensity 
of  international  competition,  will  have  learnt  that 
it  must  strain  every  nerve  to  prepare  for  future 
struggles.  It  will  see  clearly  that  it  cannot  afford 
to  pander  to  the  selfishness  of  individuals,  but 
that  it  must  have  a  single  eye«to  the  interests  of 
the  whole  nation.  Ultimate  victory  does  not 
await  the  country  which  possess  only  one  or  two 
exceptionally  brilliant  men  ;  it  will  be  slowly  and 
painfully  won  by  that  nation  which  can  command 
the  greatest  collective  force.  The  fate  of  a  people 
therefore — whatever  be  its  form  of  government — 
depends  upon  the  extent  to  which  it  cultivates  the 
powers  of  each  individual  unit,  and  on  the  degree 
in  which  it  is  capable  of  combining  and  directing 
the  individual  forces,  with  economy  and  with  fore- 
sight, towards  the  aim  of  national  prosperity.  And 
where  it  is  recognized  that  each  individual  must  be 
"^23 


No  Encroachment  of  Commercial 

developed  to  the  highest  possible  realization  of  his 
capacities,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  schools  will 
not  fail  to  adopt  those  methods  of  education  which 
are  sanctioned  by  scientific  laws. 

In  such  a  country  there  will  be  no  need  to 
catch  the  soaring  ambition  and  divert  it  from  the 
pursuit  of  social  attractions — unless  it  be  that, 
as  in  France,  social  ambitions  have  dimmed  the 
national  purpose  ;  there  will  be  no  desire  to  stunt 
the  natural  development  of  the  clever  lad  in  order 
that  he  may  become  a  "  ready  reckoner  "  of  un- 
failing accuracy,  or  a  commercial  machine  of 
unerring  precision  —  unless  it  be  in  a  country 
where  economic  freedom  has  produced  a  too  rapid 
accumulation  of  wealth  and  has  supplanted  the 
old  ideals  of  humanity,  the  ideals  which  enforced 
the  obligations  of  the  strong  to  the  weak,  though 
they  made  but  little  account  of  individual  liberty 
fenced  round  with  hereditary  rights  or  fortuitous 
privileges. 

While,  therefore,  providing  the  best  kind  of 
modern  secondary  education  that  can  be  devised 
for  aiding  the  adjustment  of  the  individual  to  his 
future  environment,  Germany  has  not  allowed 
"  commercial  education  "  to  encroach  on  the  sphere 
of  secondary  education.  That  is  to  say,  she  has 
refused  to  listen  to  those  who  may  have  said : 
"  Here  is  a  secondary  school  supplying  a  distinct 
demand  and  attracting  a  certain  number  of  boys. 

134 


on  Secondary  Education. 

Let  us  increase  its  popularity  by  altering  the 
course  of  studies  in  one  of  its  sections,  so  as  to 
teach  boys  things  which  will  be  of  practical  and 
immediate  use  to  them  when  they  enter  business 
life.  All  subjects  are  of  equal  educational  value 
if  properly  taught,  therefore,  surely  it  is  better 
to  teach  those  which  are  useful."  If  such  argu- 
ments have  been  used  in  Germany  they  have 
found  no  response  in  educational  circles.  For 
Germany  has  not  placed  her  headmasters  under 
the  temptation  of  increasing  the  number  of  their 
pupils  by  the  addition  of  garish  attractions  to 
their  curricula  ;  a  temptation  which  has  often  been 
offered  in  England  by  making  the  headmaster's 
salary  largely  dependent  on  capitation  fees.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  approaching  all  educational 
problems  in  a  methodical  spirit  and  with  a  full 
appreciation  of  at  least  the  axioms  of  educational 
science,  her  experts,  whose  opinion  is  supreme  on 
educational  reform,  have  provided  a  secondary 
education  admirably  suited  to  train  a  boy  for 
the  future  surroundings  of  business  life.  But  this 
education  does  not  fail  to  cultivate  those  special 
qualities  which  are  essential  to  the  proper  per- 
formance of  a  citizen's  duties.  In  short,  there  is 
probably  no  country  which  has  produced  a  school 
so  admirably  fitted  for  this  purpose  as  the  Real- 
schule  described  above. 

This   type   of    school  is   as  different    from    the 

135 


Methods  of  Instruction. 

commercial  branch,  which  has  been  added  to  some 
of  our  secondary  schools,  as  it  is  from  the  school  of 
science,  which  has  been  created  out  of  the  modern 
side  of  others  of  our  secondary  schools,  on  the  plea 
of  providing  a  proper  preparation  for  industrial 
life.  But  while  it  is  undoubtedly  untrue  that  the 
educative  value  of  a  subject  depends  entirely  upon 
the  way  it  is  taught,  or  that  all  subjects  are  in- 
trinsically of  equal  educative  worth,  it  is  equally 
false  to  assert  that  methods  of  instruction  do  not 
play  an  exceedingly  important,  perhaps  the  most 
important,  part  in  the  work  of  education.  As  has 
been  already  pointed  out,  the  work  of  the  educator 
is  to  guide  the  child  during  the  process  of  his 
adjustment  to  his  surroundings.  He  guides  this 
adjustment  to  a  very  great  extent  by  means  of 
instruction  ;  and,  therefore,  instruction  must  con- 
form to  the  laws  controlling  the  natural  course 
of  development.  This  is  evidently  as  essential  in 
intellectual  as  in  physical  matters,  though  the 
baneful  effects  of  premature  specialization  in 
physical  training  are  more  apparent  to  the  super- 
ficial observer  than  in  the  case  of  intellectual 
training.  It  is  consequently  evident  that  methods 
of  instruction,  and  particularly  the  manner  in 
which  new  knowledge  is  arranged  and  graduated 
and  presented  to  the  pupil,  are  of  the  utmost  im^ 
portance,  not  only  in  consideration  of  his  general 
education,  but  also — in  a  minor  degree  which  will 

136 


Training  of  Teachers. 

appeal  strongly  to  those  who  place  practical 
requirements  before  scientific  laws — with  regard 
to  his  proper  assimilation  of  this  knowledge  ;  or, 
in  other  words,  with  regard  to  his  so  acquiring  it 
that  "he  makes  it  his  own,"  and  can  use  it  for 
practical  purposes.  It  cannot  be  too  strongly- 
emphasized  that  methods  must  conform  to  the 
natural  laws  of  development ;  and  the  intellectual 
"  short  cuts,"  invented  by  charlatans,  are  as  much 
to  be  feared  as  the  nostrums  with  which  they 
endeavour  to  accelerate  natural  processes  in  the 
physical  realm. 

A  strange  fact,  which  explains  many  things, 
may  here  be  noticed.  While  we  still  believe  that 
the  best  way  for  an  educator,  who  is  employed 
in  anything  higher  than  an  elementary  school, 
to  learn  to  educate  is  to  practise  for  a  year  or 
two  unaided,  uncontrolled,  and  often  without  even 
supervision,  on  the  souls  and  minds  and  bodies  of 
children,  Germany  has  for  nearly  a  hundred  years 
insisted  that  he  should  pass  through  a  course  of 
thorough  preparatory  training.  In  the  case  of 
teachers  in  secondary  schools,  the  State  has  deter- 
mined what  evidence  they  shall  give  of  their 
qualifications  before  entering  their  profession.  In 
Prussia,  for  instance,  no  one  is  recognized  as  a 
fully  qualified  secondary  teacher  until  he  has 
passed  through  the  course  of  training  prescribed 
by  the  State.  He  is  not  admitted  to  this  course 
137 


Training  of  Teachers. 

unless,  after  having  studied  for  three  years  at  a 
university,  he  passes  an  examination  conducted  by 
a  commission  appointed  by  the  State.     In  this  ex- 
amination he  must  prove  that  he  possesses  those 
attainments  in  scholarship  without  which  he  would 
not   be  qualified  to  teach  the  subjects  which   he 
has  selected.     But  in  addition  to  satisfactory  at- 
tainments  in    scholarship,  he   has  to   satisfy   the 
examiners  that  he    also    possess    general    culture, 
which  is  essential  to  every  educator,  together  with 
a  certain  preliminary  knowledge  of  the  science  of 
education.      It   is  stated  in  the  syllabus  for  this 
examination"    that    the    candidate    must    (i)    give 
evidence   of    a   knowledge    of    the   general    prin- 
ciples of  philosophy  (ethics  and  psychology)  and 
of  pedagogy  ;  (2)  that  he  must  show  that  he  pos- 
sesses   that  command  of  his    mother-tongue,  and 
familiarity  with  his  national  literature  and  history, 
without  which  no  one  can  claim  to  be  a  man  of 
sufficient  culture  to  hold  the  position  of  master  in 
a  secondary  school  ;    (3)  that  he  must  satisfy  the 
examiners  that  he  has  given  serious  reflection  to 
the   principles    of    the    religious    teaching   of  the 
church  to  which  he  belongs.     Though  three  years' 
study  at  the  university  is  insisted  on,  the  taking 
of  a  degree  is  not  essential  for  admission  to  the 
profession.     Indeed,  one  occasionally  meets  head- 
masters enjoying  no  small  reputation,  who  cannot 
boast  of  a  university  degree. 

138 


Training  of  Teachers. 

The  passing  of  the  State  examination  constitutes 
a  young  man  an  officially  recognized  candidate 
for  the  teaching  profession.  It  is  important  to 
notice  that  in  Germany,  as  in  France,  all 
such  examinations  consist  of  an  oral  as  well  as 
a  written  part.  The  candidate  has,  since  1890, 
been  compelled  to  devote  two  years  to  his  pro- 
fessional training.  The  first  is  what  is  called  the 
seminary  year,  and  the  second  the  year  of  pro- 
bation. During  the  first  of  these  years,  the  candi- 
dates are  placed  in  charge  of  the  directors  of 
specially  selected  secondary  schools,  from  four 
to  six  candidates  to  each  director.  Here  they 
generally  spend  the  first  part  of  the  year  in  attend- 
ing lessons,  at  which  they  take  notes,  meeting 
afterwards  to  discuss  and  criticize  them  with  the 
teachers.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  year,  they 
teach  under  guidance  and  supervision.  Besides 
this,  they  take  an  active  part  in  the  general  life  of 
the  school,  and  learn  all  that  can  be  learnt  in  such 
a  way  about  school  organization  and  curricula. 
They  also  pay  visits  to  the  neighbouring  elemen- 
tary schools  and  training  colleges  for  primary 
teachers. 

While  the  first  year  is  thus  given  to  the  theo- 
retical side  of  training,  during  the  second  year  the 
candidate  begins  to  put  what  he  has  learnt  into 
practice.  As  a  probationer,  he  now  is  attached  to 
the  school  staff.  For  the  first  quarter  of  the  year 
139 


Training  of  Teachers. 

he  teaches  under  constant  supervision,  and  even 
after  that  the  director,  or  an  officially  authorized 
master,  must  be  present  at  his  lessons  at  least  twice 
a  month.  Towards  the  end  of  this  year,  he  draws 
up  a  report  on  his  own  teaching  ability  and  the 
progress  which  he  thinks  he  has  made  ;  this, 
together  with  the  report  of  the  director,  is  sub- 
mitted to  the  local  authority  (the  Provincial  Board 
of  Inspectors),  which  decides  as  to  the  candidate's 
competence  as  a  teacher,  and  consequently  his 
fitness  to  enter  the  profession  definitely. 

Though  these  regulations  may  appear  somewhat 
stringent,  they  are  in  practice  carried  out  in  such 
a  way  as  to  allow  the  greatest  freedom  possible 
to  those  who  are  in  charge  of  the  candidate's 
training.  The  points  to  be  noticed  are,  that  in 
Prussia  a  young  man  is  not  allowed  to  enter  the 
teaching  profession  without  serious  preparation, 
that  he  is  not  allowed  to  try  his  prentice  hand  on 
the  pupils  without  supervision,  and  that  he  is  not 
even  admitted  to  the  preparation  for  the  profession 
until  he  has  devoted  some  time  to  the  study  of 
the  sciences  underlying  the  theory  of  education. 
It  is  thus  that  Germany  ensures  the  employment 
of  the  best  methods  of  instruction  in  her  secondary 
schools.  She  has  at  least  discovered  that  efficiency 
of  teaching,  that  is  to  say,  the  efficiency  of  the 
teachers,  is  the  first  thing  necessary  for  the  success 
of  any  system  of  schools.     When  we  take  it  into 

140 


Modern  Language  Teaching. 

account  that  teachers  so  qualified  are  employed 
in  the  Realschulen,  we  cannot  be  surprised  that 
these  schools  achieve  wonderfully  good  results. 

Of  the  actual  knowledge  possessed  by  the  boys 
who  have  passed  through  these  schools,  that  which 
strikes  an  Englishman  most  forcibly  is  connected 
with  modern  languages.  To  the  teaching  of  no 
subjects  has  Germany  devoted  greater  attention 
during  the  last  fifteen  or  twenty  years.  In  Eng- 
land, also,  the  question  of  modern  language  teach- 
ing has  excited  recently  a  good  deal  of  attention. 
But  while  we  have  devoted  our  energies  to  trying 
new  plans,  which  anybody  may  have  been  kind 
enough  to  suggest,  for  learning  languages  in  an 
impossibly  short  space  of  time,  the  Germans  have 
brought  the  expert  knowledge,  based  on  scientific 
thought,  of  the  secondary  teacher  to  bear  on  the 
solution  of  the  problem  how  best  to  teach  modern 
languages.  The  German  experts  are  not  agreed, 
as  Lord  Salisbury  would  tell  us  experts  never  are  ; 
but  their  disagreement  has  resulted  from  the  rivalry 
of  excellent  solutions,  none  of  which  can  claim  to 
be  the  only  true  and  right  one.  The  practical  con- 
sequence has  been,  however,  to  give  an  extraordinary 
stimulus  to  modern  language  teaching  throughout 
the  whole  land.  Every  business  man  in  England 
knows  what  a  mastery  Germans  have  of  their  own 
and  often  of  other  foreign  tongues ;  but  there 
are  few  who  know  that  the  Germans  speaking 
141 


Modern  Language  Teaching. 

with  authority  on  this  subject  admit  that  this 
mastery  is  not  due  to  any  natural  aptitude  pecuHar 
to  the  German  people.  It  is,  in  their  opinion,  to 
be  traced  entirely  to  the  methods  of  instruction 
employed  in  the  schools.  In  fact,  those  Germans 
who  have  carefully  studied  the  question,  state  that 
an  English  boy  taught  by  the  same  methods 
arrives  at  equally  good  results. 

Perhaps  in  connection  with  the  teaching  of 
modern  languages  in  Germany,  I  may  be  allowed 
to  quote  one  instance,  which  came  under  my  own 
observation,  of  the  wonderful  results  obtained  by 
a  scientific  method.  In  August,  1897,  I  visited  a 
school  which  had  adopted  the  Frankfort  reformed 
curriculum  (see  p.  97)  ;  the  lower  second  class, 
in  which  the  average  age  of  the  boys  was  about 
fourteen,  had  begun  English  the  preceding  Easter, 
and  were  receiving  a  lesson  a  day  in  this  subject. 
They  had  just  returned  from  their  summer  holi- 
days, but  I  found  that  they  had  forgotten  little  of 
what  had  been  taught  them  in  the  preceding  term, 
and  had  already  a  very  remarkable  knowledge 
of  the  elements  of  English.  In  the  following 
January  I  visited  this  school  again.  The  boys  of 
the  class  referred  to  had  made  extraordinary 
progress.  I  spoke  to  them  in  English  for  half 
an  hour,  chiefly  in  connection  with  the  subject 
of  their  lesson,  and  found  little  difficulty  in 
making  myself  understood  by  the  great  majority 

142 


Modern  Language  Teachers. 

of  the  class,  and  obtaining  intelligent  replies  in 
English.  This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  in 
detail  the  method  which  was  employed  in  this 
school  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  such  results  could 
not  be  obtained  by  any  but  trained  teachers  or  in 
schools  which  were  less  perfectly  organized. 

A  word  may  be  said  as  to  the  German  teacher 
of  modern  languages.  In  the  first  place,  he  is 
invariably  a  German.  The  authorities  are  satisfied 
from  experience  that  a  trained  German  teacher 
is  able  to  obtain  much  better  results  from  German 
boys  than  a  foreigner.  That  the  German's  "accent" 
in  speaking  French  and  English  may  not  be 
perfect  is  admitted ;  but,  then,  the  authorities 
do  not  live  in  the  vain  hope,  indulged  in  by  the 
English  parent,  that  a  boy  or  girl  will  acquire 
at  school  a  perfect  foreign  accent.  On  the  other 
hand,  while  pursuing  no  such  unattainable  ideal, 
they  maintain  that  even  in  the  matter  of  pro- 
nunciation a  German  can  teach  German  children 
better  than  a  foreigner,  who  is  quite  unable  to 
place  himself  at  his  pupils'  point  of  view.  To 
the  training  of  the  modern  language  teacher  Ger- 
many has,  of  course,  devoted  special  attention. 
Everything  possible  is  done  to  induce  him  to  visit 
foreign  countries  ;  in  his  case,  one  of  the  three 
years  which  every  candidate  must  pass  at  a  German 
university  may  be  spent  at  a  university  in  the 
country  of  which  he  is  studying  the  language.  In 
143 


Influence  of  Realschulen. 

several  large  towns,  the  municipal  authorities, 
knowing  how  much  their  commercial  prosperity 
depends  on  the  proper  teaching  of  modern  lan- 
guages in  secondary  schools,  provide  scholarships, 
enabling  men  who  are  actually  engaged  in  teach- 
ing to  spend  six  consecutive  months  in  a  foreign 
land. 

Those  who  seek  for  the  educational  foundations 
of  Germany's  past  commercial  success  must  study 
her  Realschulen  and  Ober- Realschulen  ;  they  must 
consider  the  way  in  which  she  has  educated  and 
trained  the  teachers  of  these  schools  ;  and,  above 
all,  they  must  ponder  the  causes  which  have  pro- 
duced the  wide  and  general  modern  curriculum 
which  the  Government  insists  that  these  schools 
shall  adopt.  It  was  of  some  schools  nearer  home 
which  Mr.  Sadler  must  have  been  thinking  when, 
in  the  paper  already  referred  to,  he  said — 

"  To  cram  up  little  boys  of  fifteen  with  odds  and 
ends  of  commercial  law  and  generalizations  of 
commercial  geography  is  to  waste  precious  time, 
which  might  have  been  devoted  to  subjects  not 
only  more  elevating  in  themselves,  but  also  more 
digestible  by  youthful  minds.  A  school  time- 
table which  offers  Latin  and  shorthand  as  alter- 
natives cannot  properly  be  called  a  curriculum. 
It  is  more  like  a  shop-window,  from  which  the 
passer-by  may  choose  whatever  wares  seem  to 
him  attractive." 

It  is  only  within  the  last  few  years  that  Germany 
144 


Leipzig  Commercial  High  School. 

has  taken  serious  steps  to  provide  commercial 
education  of  the  highest  order,  and  the  Germans 
are  still  by  no  means  unanimous  as  to  its  value. 
The  scheme  establishing  the  High  School  of  Com- 
merce in  Leipzig  was  approved  by  the  Saxon 
Government  in  1S98.  It  is  intended  that  this 
institution  should  hold  precisely  the  same  relation 
to  commerce  as  the  great  technical  high  schools 
hold  to  Industry.  Nobody  is  admitted  to  his 
course  of  studies  who  has  not  received  a  sound 
general  education.  Candidates  are,  according  to 
the  official  regulations,  admissible  only  if  they 
satisfy  one  or  other  of  the  following  conditions  : — 

(a)  They  possess  the  certificate  of  Maturity  of  a 
Gymnasium,  Real-Gymnasium,  or  Ober-Realschule. 

(d)  They  are  persons  engaged  in  trade  who  hold 
the  six  years'  certificate  of  one  of  the  secondary 
schools. 

(c)  They  are  students  from  German  Training 
Colleges,  or  Elementary  School  teachers  who  have 
passed  the  second  general  examination  for  such 
teachers. 

(d)  They  are  foreigners  over  twenty  years  of  age 
who  can  prove  that  they  possess  the  required 
standard  of  preparatory  education. 

In  the  year  1 899-1900  there  were  275  students 

in  the  Leipzig  Commercial  High  School.    Of  these 

21  were  18  years  of  age,  42  were  19,  45  were  20, 

35   were  22,  and  23    were   over  30.      The   school 

145 


Leipzig  Commercial  High  School. 

receives  a  small  subsidy  from  the  Saxon  Govern- 
ment, and  the  Leipzig  Chamber  of  Commerce 
undertakes  all  financial  responsibility.  Educa- 
tionally it  is  closely  associated  with  the  University, 
the  professors  of  which  have  much  to  do  with  the 
organization  of  the  courses  of  studies. 

The  school  offers  two  diplomas — one  to  students 
who  have  passed  through  a  course  of  studies  with 
success,  and  one  to  these  who  had  passed  a  special 
examination  to  test  their  competence  as  teachers 
in  commercial  schools.  It  is  yet  too  early  to 
attempt  to  measure  the  results  attained  in  Germany 
by  the  highest  kind  of  commercial  education. 


146 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE    FOUNDATIONS   LAID   IN   FRANCE. 

The  national  purpose  which  we  have  seen  at  work 
in  Germany  is  also  to  be  traced  in  France  through- 
out the  course  of  the  nineteenth  century.  But 
the  poHtical  conditions  affecting  France  during 
this  period  have  been  so  different  from  those  which 
have  arisen  in  Prussia,  that  it  would  indeed  be 
strange  if  there  were  any  striking  similarity 
between  the  systems  of  education  in  the  two 
countries.  The  dawn  of  the  nineteenth  century 
saw  the  commencements  of  a  new  France,  loud  in 
its  assertion  of  the  rights  of  man.  "  Next  to 
bread,"  said  one  of  the  greatest  figures  in  the 
Revolution,  "  education  is  the  first  need  of  the 
people." 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution,  the 
followers  of  different  philosophers,  with  their 
systems,  their  formulas  and  their  constitutions, 
first  attempted  to  guide  the  new  democracy  rising 
on  the  ruin  of  the  old  order  of  things.  Voltaire 
was  mainly  responsible  for  the  overthrow  of  the 
old  systems.  While,  however,  his  teaching  had 
II  147     ' 


Influence  of  Philosophers. 

been  chiefly  negative,  attacking  accepted  beliefs 
and  recognized  systems,  Rousseau  followed  as  the 
creator  of  beliefs  and  systems  which  were  to 
replace  those  which  were  disappearing. 

It  is  not  intended  to  suggest  that  in  any 
country  thinkers  and  philosophers  actually  control 
the  course  of  human  progress.  From  *ime  to 
time  men  grow  discontented  with  the  existing 
order  of  things  ;  the  institutions  which  they  have 
reared  fail  to  satisfy  actual  needs.  Silently  they 
cease  to  support  them — silently,  because  the  very 
forms  of  speech  which  they  have  acquired  have 
been  moulded  and  fashioned  under  the  influence 
of  these  institutions.  Action — the  physical  push, 
so  to  speak — which  will  send  these  institutions 
tottering  to  the  ground,  is  impossible  until  the 
new  language  is  created,  freeing  men  from  the 
bonds  of  silence,  and  enabling  them  to  inter- 
communicate, to  plot,  and  to  devise.  At  such 
moments  a  thinker  will  arise  who  finds  the  new 
language  to  express  the  silent  thought.  Such  a 
man  was  Voltaire. 

But  the  inborn  tendency  to  progress  will  never 
allow  man  to  be  satisfied  with  mere  destruction. 
Anarchy  may  reign  for  a  moment,  but  where 
man  has  destroyed  he  will  inevitably  rebuild,  and 
the  new  language  is  not  complete  until  it  is  made 
the  medium  for  expressing,  not  merely  the  con- 
demnation of  the  old,  but  also  the  proclamation 

148 


Voltaire  and  Rousseau. 

of  the  new.  Hesitating-  between  the  ills  we 
have  and  those  we  know  not  of,  we  grope  about 
searching  for  some  assurance  of  future  ameliora- 
tion, until  silently  we  perceive  a  ray  of  truth 
illumining  possible  ultimate  good.  It  shines  not 
for  us  alone,  it  is  visible  to  our  fellows  also. 
We  need  but  the  new  language  to  call  to  one 
another  across  the  darkness  and  above  the 
tumult  of  the  vanishing  past  :  we  need  but 
the  interchange  of  thought  to  give  us  that  union 
and  support  of  fellowship  without  which  we  fear 
to  walk  upon  the  unknown  waters.  The  great 
thinker,  who  is  the  first  to  speak  under  these 
circumstances,  will  give  us  the  new  language ;  he 
will  express  our  thoughts  for  us  in  words,  and  thus 
may  seem  to  posterity  to  influence  us.  But  we 
know  that  when  once  we  have  communicated  with 
our  fellows,  and  have  found  the  common  purpose 
in  all  their  hearts,  the  common  perception  of  the 
new  light  in  all  their  minds,  we  are  urged  onwards 
by  the  force  of  our  own  wills, 

Voltaire  gave  to  the  French  the  language  of 
destruction,  Rousseau  gave  them  the  language  of 
creation.  With  all  his  paradoxes  and  false  reason- 
ings, with  all  his  baseless  assumptions  and  weak- 
witted  dreams,  Rousseau  it  was  who  first  proclaimed 
to  France  the  dawn  of  the  new  light  which  she 
was  silently  contemplating.  He  would  seem  to 
say,  "  You  have  been  told  that  the  old  order 
149 


Rousseau. 

of  things  is  hopeless.  I  will  tell  you  why  it  is 
hopeless.  Everything  is  good  when  it  leaves  the 
hands  of  the  Author  of  nature,  but  in  the  hands 
of  man  everything  degenerates.  Throw  off,  then, 
the  bonds  imposed  by  man  ;  refuse  to  submit 
to  this  overwhelming,  crushing,  all  -  enveloping 
system  of  modern  civilization  which  has  been 
built  up  in  defiance  of  the  laws  of  nature ; 
recognize  these  laws  as  your  sole  guide,  and  enter 
into  the  joys  which  Nature  reserves  for  those  who 
submit  to  her  sway  alone."  Speaking  the  new 
language  of  Voltaire,  the  French  people  overthrew 
the  Bastille.  Welcoming  the  new  language  of 
Rousseau,  the  nation  decreed  that  a  statue  should 
be  raised  to  him,  resting  on  a  pedestal  formed  of 
the  stones  of  the  great  prison. 

The  work  in  which  Rousseau  consecrated  the  new 
language  was  not  the  Contrat  Social,  gospel  as  it 
was  during  a  certain  phase  of  the  Revolution,  but 
Emile,  ou  de  F Education.  Here  he  expressed  the 
silent  thoughts,  at  work  in  all  men's  minds,  which 
went  to  the  very  root  of  things.  Education  formed 
a  basis  to  existing  institutions  ;  not  that  the  institu- 
tions were  based  upon  an  education  which  con- 
formed to  natural  laws.  Quite  the  reverse.  The 
institutions,  outcomes  of  an  artificial  civilization, 
determined  for  their  own  support  the  nature 
and  aims  of  education.  In  1762,  when  Emile 
appeared,  the  institutions  still  stood  erect,  it  is 
150 


Rousseau. 

true  ;  but  erect  only  as  a  dead  man  will  stand 
on  the  field  of  battle,  when  the  vital  power  has  left 
him  without  disturbing  the  habitual  equilibrium. 
Thinking  silently,  the  people  had  withdrawn  their 
support  from  these  institutions  ;  they  had  only  to 
adopt  the  language  of  Voltaire,  and  to  interchange 
their  thoughts,  to  unite  to  give  the  final  shock 
which  should  send  the  artificial  fabrics  toppling  to 
their  ruin. 

It  was  not  till  this  had  happened  that  the 
people — the  lower  orders  —  heard  the  creative 
language  of  Emile.  But  the  upper  classes — the 
educated  classes  —  heard  it  immediately,  and 
adopted  it.  They  were  waiting  expectantly  for 
the  lower  classes  to  give  the  physical  push  to  the 
hollow  institutions  ;  they  themselves  gave  it  to 
the  basis  which  they  regarded  as  their  own  pecu- 
liar property,  education.  They  had  for  long 
thought  silently  that  a  system  of  education  was 
absurd  which  fashioned  children,  destined  by  Nature 
to  be  self-dependent,  self-active  men,  for  slavery  to 
the  all-enveloping  institutions  which  had  ceased 
to  command  their  confidence.  And,  as  Fate 
would  have  it,  in  the  very  year  in  which  Emile 
appeared,  the  Jesuits,  who  reigned  supreme  over 
public  education,  were  expelled  from  France. 
The  new  language  was  everywhere  adopted  by 
the  upper  classes.  Even  royalty  heard  it,  not 
recognizing  that  it  proclaimed  its  own  ultimate 
151 


Rousseau. 

replacement.  Expressing  the  thoughts  of  others, 
which  could  not  have  been  its  own,  royalty  caused 
the  ill-starred  prince,  who  was  afterwards  to  be  the 
victim  of  the  Revolution,  to  be  educated  according 
to  the  new  ideas.  This  was  why  Louis  XVL 
learnt  a  trade,  and  why,  later  on,  when  a  prisoner 
in  his  own  palace,  he  found  his  sole  amusement  in 
making  locks :  "  He  sends  for  his  smith's  tools  ; 
gives,  in  the  course  of  the  day,  official  or  cere- 
monious business  being  ended, 'a  few  strokes  of 
the  file.'  " 

Rousseau  expressed  the  general  feeling  of  his 
time,  which  revolted  against  an  education  designed 
in  support  of  existing  institutions.  He  proclaimed 
the  right  of  man  to  independence,  even  in  his 
education.  Emile  opens  with  the  statement,  already 
quoted,  that  "everything  is  good  on  leaving  the 
hands  of  the  Author  of  nature,  but  in  the  hands 
of  man  everything  degenerates."  The  state  of 
nature  being,  therefore,  preferable  to  that  of 
civilization,  the  education  of  man  should  conform 
to  the  laws  of  nature,  and  be  a  preparation 
in  the  fullest  liberty  for  the  natural  state,  rather 
than  an  adjustment  to  the  surroundings  of  his 
future  life  and  the  existing  social  organization. 
And  it  was  in  his  opposition  to  this  latter  aim 
of  education  that  Rousseau  voiced  most  clearly 
the  thought  of  the  upper  classes  of  his  time — a 
thought  which  spread  to  the  lower  classes  in  the 

152 


Two  Fundamental  Views. 

Revolutionary  period  of  the  second  decade  after 
his  death. 

The  duty  of  educating  man  as  man,  apart  from 
all  considerations  of  social  organization,  was  the 
thought,  expressed  by  Rousseau  in  Einile,  which 
remained  when  the  other  fundamental  principles 
he  uttered  had  been  forgotten.  And  the  nine- 
teenth century  witnessed  in  France  a  continual 
contest  between  two  views — the  one  admitting 
the  right  of  every  child,  irrespective  of  his  social 
position,  to  the  fullest  education  of  which  he  was 
capable ;  and  the  other  demanding  that  educa- 
tion should  confirm  the  existing  social  organi- 
zation. We  find  the  one  or  the  other  dominating 
according  as  the  principles  of  democracy  rose  and 
fell.  It  is  thus  not  a  national  purpose — in  so  far 
as  it  regards  competition  with  foreign  rivals — 
which  we  perceive  at  work  in  the  development  of 
French  education  in  the  century  which  has  passed, 
though,  as  we  shall  see  later  on,  such  a  purpose 
did  play  an  important  part  in  this  development; 
it  is  rather  a  social  purpose,  directed  either  towards 
the  promotion  of  absolute  social  equality,  or,  on 
the  contrary,  towards  the  confirmation  of  class 
distinctions. 

In  1791,  at  the  opening  of  the  Revolution  which 

was  to  confirm  the  absolute  equality  of  all  men, 

it    is   officially   stated    in    the    Constitution  that : 

"  There  shall   be  created  and  organized  a  public 

153 


Napoleon. 

instruction,  common  to  all  citizens,  gratuitous  as 
regards  those  parts  of  education  indispensable  to 
all  men."  But  little  more  was  done  than  to  formu- 
late such  principles  ;  the  First  Republic  was  too 
busy  fighting  for  its  existence  against  enemies  at 
home  and  abroad,  to  put  its  educational  ideas  into 
practice. 

Napoleon  followed  with  his  tyranny  of  merit, 
and  built  up  his  Imperial  University,  a  body 
charged  with  all  the  public  education  of  the 
empire.  By  a  decree  of  1808  all  schools  in  this 
organization  were  obliged  to  take  the  precepts 
of  the  Catholic  religion  as  the  basis  of  their 
teaching,  and  to  inculcate  fidelity  to  the  emperor, 
to  the  Imperial  monarchy,  and  to  the  Napoleonic 
dynasty.  In  18 15  Napoleon  was  overthrown,  and 
the  old  monarchy,  with  its  leanings  towards  the 
former  social  system,  restored.  The  Napoleonic 
educational  system  was,  however,  maintained  ;  but 
little  progress  was  made  in  public  education, 
except  in  so  far  as  the  right  of  any  authorized 
religious  association  to  supply  teachers  for  the 
elementary  schools  was  recognized  by  law. 

With  the  accession  of  Louis-Philippe  in  1830 
the  real  work  of  education,  as  affecting  all  classes 
of  the  nation,  may  be  said  to  have  begun.  This 
monarchy  depended  on  the  support  of  the  mi.ddle 
classes  ;  and  the  education  of  the  middle  classes,  in 
confirmation  of  the  existing  social  order,  appears 
154 


Reign  of  Louis-Philippe. 

to  have  been  the  chief  aim  of  the  educational 
development  of  his  reign.  The  elementary  schools 
were  increased,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following 
comparative  tables  for  the  years  1832  and  1850  : — 

1832.  1850. 

Number  of  public  schools      •         32,520        .        43,^43 


16,736 

60, 579 

1,793.667 
1,528,756 


,,  private      ,,  .  9,572 

Total     .         42,092 

Number  of  pupils  (boys)         .    1,202,673 
..  .>        (girls)         .       734,909 

Total     .    1,937,582 
Illiterates      ....       47  "S"/© 

But  it  is  when  we  turn  to  the  education  higher 
than  primary  that  we  begin  to  perceive  the  social 
tendencies  at  work.  All  nations  occupying  a  fore- 
most rank  in  modern  civilization  now  give  much 
the  same  elementary  education  to  the  children  of 
the  poorer  classes.  It  is  not  until  the  secondary 
stage  is  reached  that  we  find  marked  differences 
between  the  systems ;  and  it  may  truly  be  said 
that  the  development  of  the  system  of  secondary 
schools  marks  at  present  with  approximate  accu- 
racy the  exact  rank  that  a  nation  holds  in 
civilization.  We  have  seen  that  in  England  our 
secondary  system  is  not  yet  established.  We 
have  also  seen  in  an  earlier  chapter  that,  under 
the  leadership  of  Prussia,  Germany  has  made  her 
secondary  schools  the  centre  and  support  of  her 
whole  national  system  of  education.  France 
155 


Guizot. 

offers  a  very  interesting  comparison,  all  the  more 
interesting  to  us  because  in  what  attempts  the 
State  has  made  in  England  to  build  up  a  secondary 
system,  it  has  followed  the  example  of  France 
rather  than  of  Germany. 

The  French  Minister  to  whom  almost  all  of  the 
educational  reforms  of  the  reign  of  Louis-Philippe 
are  due  is  Guizot.  Guizot  was  an  historian  before 
he  was  a  politician  ;  not  a  mere  relator  of  events, 
but  one  who  searched  for  the  causes  producing 
events  and  the  lessons  they  had  to  teach  for 
future  guidance.  His  historical  studies  had  led 
him  to  the  conclusion  that  liberty  was  essential 
to  the  stability  of  government.  But  by  "liberty" 
he  did  not  understand  the  natural  freedom  of 
Rousseau.  According  to  Guizot,  "  liberty  is  in  its 
essence  the  simultaneous  manifestation  and  action 
of  all  interests,  rights,  powers,  and  social  elements." 
In  short,  it  was,  so  to  speak,  an  equilibrium  estab- 
lished among  all  the  rival  social  forces,  a  kind  of 
social  balance  of  power.  He  considered  that  the 
whole  movement  of  European  history  had  tended 
towards  the  raising  up,  strengthening,  and  enriching 
of  a  middle  class  ;  and  it  was  on  this  middle  class 
that  the  desired  equilibrium  depended.  But  it 
was  in  the  richer  middle  classes  that  the  real 
strength  resided.  His  object  was  therefore  to 
restore  the  institutions  overthrown  by  the  Revolu- 
tion, not  on  the  democratic  basis  of  the  early  days 
156 


Guizot  and  the  Middle  Classes. 

of  the  Revolution,  nor  on  the  autocratic  basis 
of  merit  founded  by  Napoleon ;  neither  did  he 
favour  the  aristocratic  views  of  the  two  preceding 
monarchs.  The  foundation  which  he  considered 
alone  stable  was  plutocratic.  And  it  was  with 
due  attention  to  the  political  theory  which  he  had 
thus  formed  that  he  set  about  the  work  of  educa- 
tional reform. 

Guizot  was  aided  by  the  fact  that  there  were  to 
be  found  the  same  forces  at  work  both  in  France 
and  Germany,  pressing  for  radical,  and  what  may 
in  a  sense  be  called  democratic,  reforms  in  second- 
ary education.  But  whereas  the  Germans,  full  of 
national  enthusiasm,  took  Pestalozzi,  the  practical 
educator,  as  their  guide,  the  French  democrats 
founded  their  views  on  the  half-philosophical,  half- 
political  theories  expressed  by  Rousseau.  And 
we  may  therefore  expect  to  find  the  political,  and 
still  further  the  social,  movements  of  the  last  cen- 
tury exercising  greater  influence  on  educational 
development  in  France  than  in  Germany.  We 
find,  for  instance,  the  same  revolt  in  both  countries 
against  the  purely  classical  teaching  of  the  second- 
ary schools.  But  the  revolt  in  France  is  marked 
far  more  by  its  attacks  on  the  social  privileges 
represented  by  these  schools  than  in  Germany. 
Indeed,  it  appears  as  if  the  broad  distinction  might 
be  drawn  that,  whereas  in  Germany  education  has 
been  generally  expressed  in  terms  of  national 
157 


French  Democrats. 

prosperity,  in  France  it  has  been  expressed  in 
terms  of  social  equality.  The  French  democrat 
had  certainly  a  keen  appreciation  of  the  joys  of 
national  supremacy,  but  in  internal  affairs  his 
main  purpose  seems  not  so  much  to  have  been  to 
achieve  individual  liberty  as  social  equality.  First 
he  attempted  this  by  abolishing  institutions  with 
the  privileges  they  represented  ;  but  then,  finding 
the  dead  level  of  general  equality  unsatisfactory 
and  perpetual  motion  of  the  guillotine  undesirable, 
he  was  ready  to  accept  any  institutions  which 
would  bestow  on  him  the  privilege  of  equality 
with  those  in  the  highest  social  ranks.  Then  rose 
up  a  fresh  stratum  of  democrats  to  abolish  these 
institutions  in  their  turn,  and  to  capture  the  social 
privileges  for  themselves.  It  was  this  social  unrest 
and  continual  changing  that  Guizot  wished  to 
remove.  His  task  would  have  been  hopeless  had 
it  not  been  for  that  apparent  permanency  in  the 
actual  system  of  government  referred  to  in-  an 
earlier  chapter. 

That  he  first  of  all  consolidated  and  widened 
the  system  of  primary  education  may  be  re- 
garded, not  as  a  democratic  step — his  ultimate 
overthrow  was  due  to  his  stubborn  refusal  to  make 
any  concession  to  democratic  principles — but 
rather  as  a  recognition  of  the  necessity  for  the 
education  of  all  classes  of  the  people  according  to 
the  positions  which  they  were  called  to  occupy. 
158 


Causes  of  Higher  Primary  Education. 

But  where  the  lower  classes  are  moved  by  strong 
desires  to  attain  to  equality  with  the  highest  social 
orders,  they  will  invariably  endeavour  to  obtain 
the  right  to  that  education  which  will  admit  them 
to  these  ranks.  With  this  tendency  Guizot,  in 
his  desire  for  social  equilibrium,  could  have  no 
sympathy.  Speaking  of  the  gap  between  primary 
and  secondary  education,  he  said — 

"  It  is  absolutely  essential  to  fill  up  this  gap.  A 
considerable  proportion  of  our  countrymen  must  be 
given  theopportunity  of  attaining  a  certain  level  of 
intellectual  development  without  imposing  upon 
them  the  necessity  of  having  recourse  to  secondary 
instruction,  which  is  both  uncertain  in  its  returns 
and  expensive.  Indeed,  for  the  few  fortunate  men 
of  talent  that  classical  education  develops,  and 
removes  with  profit  to  themselves  from  their  first 
surroundings,  on  how  many  mediocrities  does  it 
not  bestow  habits  and  tastes  incompatible  with 
the  humble  station  to  which  they  must  inevitably 
return  ?  And  because  they  have  once  left  their 
natural  sphere,  they  are  at  a  loss  by  what  path  to 
force  their  way  in  life,  and  rarely  become  other 
than  ungrateful,  discontented,  unhappy  beings,  a 
burden  to  others  and  to  themselves." 

It  was  on  this  account  that  Guizot  founded 
the  system  of  higher  primary  education.  It  is 
true  that  when  he  referred  to  the  unsuitability  of 
the  classical  secondary  education,  he  was  express- 
ing a  feeling  which  also  existed  in  Germany.  But, 
generally  speaking,  while  it  appeared  necessary 
159 


Utilitarianism. 

to  the  French  statesman  to  throw  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  the  social  ambitions  which  would 
lead  parents  to  send  their  children  to  the 
classical  secondary  school,  Prussia  was  considering 
how  she  could  provide  a  modern  secondary  educa- 
tion side  by  side  with  the  classical  school ;  not  in 
fear  of  social  ambitions,  but  because  such  an 
education  appeared  essential  to  the  proper  de- 
velopment of  a  large  portion  of  the  nation.  This 
difference,  which  goes  on  increasing  between  the 
two  systems,  is  a  fundamental  one,  and  calls  for 
very  special  attention  from  those  English  educa- 
tionists who  study  the  schools  of  the  two  countries. 

It  is  significant  that  about  this  time  there  was 
in  France  a  strong  opinion  in  favour  of  what 
is  called  "  practical "  education,  that  is  to  say, 
education  which  is  strictly  utilitarian  in  its  aim. 
The  great  self-educated  scientist,  Arago,  expressed 
this  opinion  in  1836,  in  the  well-known  saying, 
"You  don't  make  beet-root  sugar  with  fine  phrases." 
It  may  be  noticed,  in  passing,  that  similar  argu- 
ments have  been  used  in  favour  of  the  educative 
value  of  science  as  opposed  to  literature  by  not 
a  few  English  educationists  within  the  last  ten 
years. 

Guizot's  system  of  higher  primary  schools  met 

with  little  success  for  many  years.    Without  tracing 

it   through   all    its   changing  fortunes,    it   is  only 

necessary  here   to  notice  the  chief  points  in    its 

160 


Growth  of  Higher  Primary  System. 

historical  development.  Under  Napoleon  III., 
when  democratic  tendencies  were  held  in  check 
by  other  means,  the  higher  primary  schools  were 
allowed  to  languish.  Considerable  progress  was, 
however,  made  in  elementary  education,  the 
number  of  illiterates,  which  in  1850  was  35*4 
per  cent,  had  been  reduced  in  1872  to  I9"i  per 
cent.  At  the  same  time,  the  State  tightened 
its  grasp  on  the  schools,  the  number  of  private 
schools  falling  from  16,^^6  in  1850  to  13.866 
in  1872.  Consequently,  the  public  expenditure 
on  primary  education  increased  between  1865 
and  1872  by  more  than  26,000,000  francs.  Private 
enterprise  seems,  however,  merely  to  have  been 
turned  into  other  channels,  for  it  is  during 
this  period  that  we  find  it  energetically  directed, 
assisted  by  public  enterprise,  to  the  establishment 
of  adult  classes,  apprentice  classes,  and  evening 
continuation  schools.  These,  however,  in  no  way 
provided  higher  primary  education  as  originally 
organized. 

But  most  important  of  all  was  the  establishment 
of  the  modern  branch  of  secondary  education  in 
1865.  At  this  date  France  was  again  attempting 
to  realize  her  dreams  of  national  supremacy  in 
Europe.  And  it  is,  therefore,  not  astonishing  to 
find  her  attempting  to  introduce  reforms  in  her 
secondary  education  on  the  lines  adopted  by 
Prussia.  Had  the  disaster  of  1870  not  resulted  for 
161 


Higher  Primary  System. 

France  in  a  return  to  a  Republican  form  of  govern- 
ment, it  is  not  improbable  that  the  modern 
secondary  school  would  have  thriven  and  removed 
all  need  for  higher  primary  education.  But  such 
was  not  to  be  its  fate. 

In  1878  the  French  Parliament  for  the  first 
time  turned  its  attention  seriously  to  the  higher 
primary  question,  and  voted  110,000  francs  for 
the  salaries  of  masters  and  scholarships  for  pupils 
in  higher  primary  schools.  From  then  onward 
these  schools  have  rapidly  developed.  While  in 
1878  there  were  only  about  forty  such  schools 
in  France,  there  were  256  in  1889,  besides  431 
so-called  cotirs  complemetitaires.  It  only  remains 
to  trace,  during  the  last  ten  years,  their  rapid 
development,  based  on  the  Free  Education  Act 
of  1880,  and  the  Act  of  1886. 

The  cours  covipliinentaires  were  first  of  all  sepa- 
rated from  the  higher  primary  schools,  and  defined 
as  a  one-year's  additional  course  to  the  elementary 
school,  of  which  it  forms  a  distinct  part.  The 
higher  primary  school,  on  the  other  hand,  is,  except 
in  a  few  places,  carried  on  in  a  separate  building 
of  its  own,  provides  a  minimum  course  of  two 
years'  instruction,  and  is  under  a  different  director 
from  the  elementary  school.  Three  or  more  years 
of  instruction  must  be  given  for  it  to  be  recog- 
nized as  providing  a  full  course.  In  1889  there 
were  existing  two  kinds  of  higher  primary  schools — 
162 


Higher  Primary  System. 

Professiofnielles  and  non-prof essionnelles,  the  former 
being  under  the  control  of  the  Minister  of  Public 
Instruction,  and  the  latter  under  the  joint  control 
of  this  Minister  and  the  Minister  of  Commerce. 
The  result  was  that  the  "professional"  element 
was  found  to  predominate  in  both,  that  is  to  say, 
that  special  instruction  for  various  occupations  was 
tending  to  oust  general  instruction  altogether.  In 
1892,  however,  a  separation  between  the  two  types 
was  commenced,  and  at  present  they  are  clearly 
defined. 

There  are  thus  two  distinct  types  of  school 
to  supplement  elementary  education  :  (i)  the 
higher  primary  schools,  under  the  Minister  of 
Public  Instruction,  and  (2)  the  practical  schools 
of  commerce  and  industry,  under  the  Minister 
of  Commerce.  Speaking  generally,  it  appears 
that  the  Ministry  of  Commerce  has  favoured 
specialization  within  the  limits  which  we  are  now 
discussing,  and,  as  we  shall  see  later,  also  in 
higher  grades  of  education  ;  whereas  the  Ministry 
of  Public  Instruction  has,  as  far  as  possible,  been 
guided  in  its  work  by  the  scientific  laws  governing 
the  process  of  education. 

In  1890  it  was  calculated  that  at  least  one-half 
of  the  pupils  in  the  higher  primary  schools  were 
destined  for  agricultural,  industrial,  or  commercial 
occupations,  and  at  present  the  proportion  is  over 
two-thirds.  Discussing  the  aim  of  these  schools 
12  163 


Higher  Primary  Schools — 

in    1893,    the  Minister  of  Public   Instruction,    M. 
Charles  Dupuy,  said,  in  an  official  circular — 

"  Who  are  the  pupils  attending  them  ?  They 
are  not  young  people  destined  for  wide  careers, 
having  indefinite  time  at  their  disposal,  and 
asking  from  us  high  intellectual  culture ;  they 
are  children  of  the  working  classes,  who  will  re- 
quire to  live  by  their  labour,  and,  in  most  cases, 
by  the  work  of  their  hands.  They  do  not  aspire 
to  classical  studies  ;  their  ambition  and  probable 
destiny  is  to  fill  one  of  the  numerous  positions  of 
an  unpretentious  character  that  agriculture,  com- 
merce, and  industry  offer  to  workers,  with  the 
prospect  of  attaining,  by  gradual  steps,  to  a  state  of 
moderate  ease. 

"  If  this  is  so,  the  higher  primary  school  will 
merely  direct  its  pupils,  from  start  to  finish,  to- 
wards the  requirements  of  the  practical  life  that 
awaits  them  ;  it  will  not  turn  their  minds  for  a 
moment  from  the  pursuit  of  a  profession  ;  it  will 
be  careful  not  to  let  them  acquire  habits,  tastes, 
and  ideas  which  will  separate  them  from  the 
manner  of  life  and  work  for  which  they  are  in- 
tended. And,  while  at  the  same  time  reminding 
them  that  democracy  broke  down  the  barriers  which 
formerly  restricted  so  seriously  the  liberty  of  the 
individual,  it  will  try  rather  to  make  them  love  and 
honour  their  career  than  to  dream  of  the  means 
of  quitting  it." 

He  concluded,  therefore,  that  there  could  be  no 
possible  confusion  of  aim  between  these  schools 
and  the  modern  branch  of  secondary  education, 
and  he  defined  the  aim  of  the  former  as  follows  : — 

164 


and  "  Practical  "  Schools. 

"The  entirely  practical  and  utilitarian  character  of 
the  higher  primary  school  may  be  recognized  at  the 
first  glance  :  in  this  general  sense  it  is  '  professional.' 
But  nevertheless  it  remains  absolutely  instructive  ; 
it  does  not  lend  itself  to  apprenticeship.  It  is  a 
school,  not  a  workshop  ;  its  members  are  scholars, 
not  apprentices.  In  it  we  continue  the  work 
begun  in  the  primary  school.  Even  for  the  work- 
man (ought  we  not  rather  to  say,  before  everything 
else  for  the  workman  ?)  this  mental  cultivation — 
by  which  is  formed  judgment,  affection,  will, 
character,  indeed,  all  those  powers  which  he,  more 
than  any  one,  will  need  in  the  struggle  for  existence 
— is  not  a  misplaced  luxury. 

"  Our  higher  primary  schools  have,  therefore, 
this  double  object  which  has  been  assigned  to  them 
from  the  outset :  they  unite  in  the  closest  associa- 
tion a  completing  of  general  education  with  a 
beginning  of  professional  instruction." 

The  Minister  of  Commerce,  in  his  turn,  in  a 
circular  issued  a  week  later,  defined  the  aim  of  the 
new  "practical  schools."  He  recognized  the  need 
of  a  solid  basis  of  general  instruction,  and  stated 
that  this  must  not  be  lost  sight  of.  He  con- 
tinued— 

"  But  we  must  also  consider  the  needs  of 
commerce  and  industry.  Every  day,  indeed,  the 
commercial  struggle  between  nations  becomes 
more  ardent,  and  the  difficulty  of  trade  greater. 
Industry  has  undergone  a  profound  transforma- 
tion ;  everything  is  sacrificed  to  the  end  to  be 
attained,  which  is  to  produce  quickly  and  cheaply  ; 
and  in  consequence  of  the  division  of  labour 
and    the    introduction     of    machinery,    workshop 

165 


Higher  Primary  &  "  Practical  "  Schools. 

apprenticeship  does  not  exist  to-day,  except 
in  a  few  rare  instances.  Nevertheless,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  frequent  changes  which  must  be 
effected  in  plant  and  tools,  the  necessity  of  possess- 
ing workmen  having  adequate  theoretical  know- 
ledge, and  thoroughly  trained  to  the  conditions  of 
the  workshop,  has  never  been  so  clearly  necessary. 
"We  cannot  afford  to  ignore  the  fact  that  it  is  to 
our  interest  to  fill  up  a  gap  existing  by  the  force 
of  circumstances  in  our  commercial  and  industrial 
organization,  and  it  has  become  indispensable  to 
provide  our  merchants  with  carefully  prepared 
assistants,  and  to  furnish  our  factories  with  high- 
class  workmen.  This  is  the  task  of  the  practical 
school." 


How  far  this  aim  has  been  kept  in  view  in  the 
two  kinds  of  schools  may  best  be  judged  by  study- 
ing the  annexed  time-tables. 

We  thus  see  that  a  vast  system  of  higher  primary 
education  has  been  built  up  which  in  no  way  forms 
part  of  the  so-called  educational  ladder.  It  is  in 
itself  intended  to  be  complete,  and  makes  no  attempt 
to  train  its  pupils  to  proceed  to  the  secondary 
school.  There  is,  indeed,  no  link  between  this 
branch  and  secondary  education,  and  there  is 
intended  to  be  none.  From  statistics  exhibited  in 
the  section  of  the  Ministry  of  Public  Instruction 
at  the  last  Paris  Exhibition,  it  may  be  inferred 
that  the  system  is  successful,  in  that  it  tends  to 
keep  children  in  the  professions  or  occupations  of 
their  parents. 

1 66 


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167 


Higher  Primary  &  "  Practical  "  Schools. 

The  comparison  between  the  time-tables  of  the 
*'  general "  branch  of  the  French  higher  primary 
schools  and  that  of  the  Prussian  Realschule  on 
p.  8 1  is  instructive.  And  it  should  be  remembered 
that  this  "general "  branch  represents  only  one  part 
of  the  organization  under  the  Ministry  of  Public 
Instruction.  That  this  Ministry  is  contending 
against  the  specializing  tendencies  of  the  Ministry 
of  Commerce  is  shown  by  the  fact  that,  by  com- 
paring the  second  and  third  years  of  the  industrial 
section  of  the  higher  primary  schools  with  the 
same  years  of  the  practical  schools  of  industry,  the 
following  result  is  obtained  by  the  French  authori- 
ties:  In  the  former,  28  hours  a-week  are  given  to 
theoretical  instruction,  and  28  to  practical ;  while 
in  the  latter  only  19^  are  given  to  theoretical,  but 
77  to  practical  instruction. 

At  the  close  of  the  higher  primary  course 
a  certificate  is  given  to  those  pupils  who  pass 
a  leaving  examination.  In  1899,  out  of  3708 
candidates,  1754  were  successful  in  passing  this 
examination.  At  present  this  certificate  carries 
no  special  privileges  with  it,*  and  apparently  confers 
but  little  advantage  on  the  bearer.  But  probably 
in  time  it  will  obtain  admission  to  certain  Govern- 
ment posts,  and  will  be  recognized  at  its  proper 
value  by  employers. 

*  For  its  future  use  as  a  means  of  admission  to  certain  technical 
schools,  see  p,  i6j. 

168 


Modern  Secondary  Education. 

Before  proceeding  to  consider  the  higher  branches 
of  the  education  of  those  classes  for  whose  benefit 
the  higher  primary  system  has  been  devised,  a  few- 
words  may  be  said  here  as  to  the  develbpment  of 
secondary  schools  in  France.  As  stated  above,  an 
attempt  was  made  in  1865  to  create  schools  of  the 
same  nature  as  the  German  Realschulen.  This 
attempt  may  be  said  to  have  failed  because  the 
pupils  of  these  schools  were  allowed  none  of  the 
privileges,  chief  among  which  is  admission  to 
the  universities,  granted  to  those  in  the  higher 
branches  of  secondary  education.  Had  it  suc- 
ceeded, there  would  now  be  no  place  for  higher 
primary  schools.  Looking  back  on  the  course  of 
development  of  the  educational  system  of  France 
during  the  nineteenth  century,  the  predominant 
aim  of  the  State  appears  to  have  been  the  checking 
of  the  democratic  tendencies  towards  social  equality. 
We  shall  see  later  on  that  in  America,  during  the 
same  period,  no  such  checks  have  been  placed  on 
democratic  tendencies,  and  yet  there  has  been 
no  overcrowding  of  those  special  professions  and 
occupations  which  are  considered  to  bestow  a 
certain  social  sanction.  In  France,  however,  for 
reasons  already  stated,  such  checks  appear  to  have 
been  essential.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  they 
are  so  in  England. 

The  social  considerations  alluded  to  have  also 
had  their  influence  on  the  actual  development  of 
169 


Modern  Secondary  Education. 

secondary  education.  It  will  immediately  be 
evident  that,  where  such  a  course  of  studies  as 
that  in  the  general  section  of  the  higher  primary 
schools  has  been  planned  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
lower  social  orders,  there  will  be  great  prejudices 
against  a  similar  course  in  secondary  schools,  which 
are  fed  by  those  with  higher  social  aspirations. 
And,  consequently,  we  find  in  France  almost  the 
same  social  prejudice  against  the  exclusion  of  Latin 
from  the  secondary  schools  as  we  find  in  England. 
The  annexed  table,  exhibited  in  the  Educational 
section  of  the  recent  Paris  Exhibition,  will  show 
plainly  the  present  arrangement  of  the  secondary 
schools  in  France.  It  will  be  observed  that  both 
in  France  and  in  England,  modern  and  classical 
"  sides "  are  to  be  found  in  the  same  schools. 
But  this  is  by  no  means  necessarily  the  case; 
in  Paris,  for  instance,  three  Lycees  and  one 
College  have  no  modern  side,  and  one  Lycee 
and  one  College  no  classical  side. 

It  should  be  noticed  that  the  French  have  no 
leaving  examination  corresponding  to  that  in  the 
German  secondary  schools.  The  examination  for 
the  degree  of  Bachelier  in  some  way  replaces  this, 
but  it  is  an  examination  held  at  the  university, 
and  not  in  the  secondary  school.  A  candidate 
may  present  himself  as  many  times  as  he  likes, 
and  may  have  been  prepared  by  practically  any 
school  or  any  teachers.  The  difi'erent  branches  of 
170 


6  tS 

4,.- 

c  S 


2   bt) 


MINISTRY    OF    PUBLIC    INSTRUCTION. 
SECONDARY    BDUCAriON. 


»  Ihe   Ecole   Poly    1  Modem  Laneuages  . 


Dr.»mB  (opilon.l|  . 


\  GcoloBj  (dnt.nc  3  "i™lh 


HlMory  ... 
Geography 


Sfi- 


no'ifiTbl 

)  side*) 

.  Philosophy .    . 

Hislory 

\  Modern  Languagci  

] 

.- 

/Ffench 

•1 

Law  and  Poiilicoi  Economy 

HistotyofArl     ..    .    

SEftL-nV;::.:-.::.: 

Modem  Languages  (optional 
Onwing  (O)itiooal) 

'*        1 

(average 

10  17) 

Natural  'SiMoiy.  Uygteoe    '. 
luwanS  PoiiIi'.^i  Economy 

■' 

Geography   

Modern  Languages  (opiiona 

1 

/Modem  Lingungcs  ...   ... 

age  15  10  16) 

|SXS«:::::.::::: : 

Chemishy  and  Piijsics  .... 
\Dimwine  

\ 

/E«°'h      

Modem  Language* 

t 

»E<'4'oiS) 

CbemistTy  and  Physics  . , . 
GeolfiB*  (for  3  mooOin) 

\Dr*wing 

Houi. 

:  i 

Fourth   Clot!  (avcTRgc 
BEeijtoM) 

Gcofiiaphy 

^</V^    C'a./    (aver.ee 

1  Modem  Language!  .... 
,  Geography   

\DralS""*  ^""'    ■   ■.' 

/French 

.     6 

Sixth    C/aii    (average 

History  and  Geography  . . 

age  11  U.  12) 

Zoology 

Vorawing 

»gc  10)  I  Geography 


081     lOrajraphy  


The  Baccalaureat. 

this  examination  have,  in  short,  come  to  be  regarded 
as  bestowing  a  degree  carrying  with  it  admission 
to  various  professions  and  further  courses  of  study, 
rather  than  as  affording  a  test  of  having  passed 
satisfactorily  through  a  certain  course  of  secondary 
education. 

Since  1890  this  examination  has  been  divided 
into  two  distinct  sections.  The  first,  called  the 
classical  baccalauriat,  has  been  subdivided  into 
the  two  sections :  (i)  literary-philosophical,  and 
(2)  literary-mathematical ;  the  second,  the  modern 
baccalaureat,  into  three  sections:  (i)  literary-philo- 
sophical, (2)  literary-scientific,  and  (3)  literary- 
mathematical.  These  two  sections  correspond 
respectively  to  the  two  sides  in  the  foregoing 
time-table.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the 
candidates  for  the  modern  baccalaureat  are  younger 
than  those  for  the  classical.  It  is  not  surprising 
that  the  former  should  carry  with  it  fewer  privi- 
leges than  the  latter.  The  relative  popularity  of 
the  classical  side  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  three 
times  as  many  candidates  present  themselves  for 
the  classical  as  for  the  modern  baccalaureat.  There 
is  at  present  a  very  strong  movement  in  favour 
of  raising  the  modern  side  to  the  same  level  as 
that  of  the  classical,  and  reintroducing  the  old 
baccalanre'at-h- sciences,  which  is,  of  course,  not 
satisfactorily  replaced  by  the  second  section  of 
the  higher  division  in  the  present  arrangement. 
171 


Ecoles  Nationales  Professionnelles. 

When  reviewing  the  technical  tendencies  of  the 
higher  primary  schools,  it  was  seen  that  there 
is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  Ministry  of 
Public  Instruction  to  insist,  as  far  as  possible,  on 
general  education  in  all  schools  under  its  control. 
The  Ministry  of  Commerce,  on  the  other  hand, 
stands  for  the  utilitarian  rather  than  for  the  educa- 
tional idea,  and,  consequently,  it  has  gradually 
drawn  beneath  its  sway  all  those  schools  in  which 
the  special  technical  aim  predominates.  We  do 
not  find  in  France  any  clearly  defined  system  of 
schools,  as  in  Germany  ;  indeed,  the  French  system 
presents  a  good  deal  of  confusion,  and  the  struggle 
in  the  higher  primary  sphere  between  the  two 
Ministries,  representing  more  or  less  antagonistic 
ideas,  produces  of  necessity  a  certain  amount  of 
overlapping  of  effort.  At  times,  indeed,  it  appears 
that  there  must  on  this  account  be  a  good  deal  of 
unnecessary  expenditure.  In  the  ca.sQ  of  the  Ecoles 
Nationales  Professionnelles,  for  instance,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  see  how  the  Ministry  of  Public  Instruction 
has  had  in  practice  anything  more  than  a  purely 
utilitarian  and  technical  aim.  Speaking  in  1898, 
however,  M.  Buisson,  to  whom  French  primary 
education  and  that  of  all  other  countries  lies  under 
a  heavy  debt,  thus  drew  a  distinction — • 

"They  are  in  no  way  special  technical  schools 
.  .  .  they  offer  a  complete  scholastic  system  {des 
groiipes  scolaires),   comprising  the  infants'  school, 

172 


Ecoles  Nationales  Professionnelles. 

the  elementary  school,  and  the  higher  primary 
school ;  and  in  all  grades  there  is  professional 
education,  increasing  by  regular  gradations  from  the 
first  years,  in  which  it  is  practically  non-existent, 
until  the  last  half-year,  when  it  is  everything. 
Having  arrived  at  this  stage,  the  apprentice,  who 
now  only  requires  the  practice  of  his  trade  to 
become  a  workman,  leaves  the  ^cole  natioyiale 
either  to  enter  the  workshop  or  to  proceed  to  a 
real  technical  school.  These  schools,  therefore, 
are  establishments  offering  a  preparation  for  general 
life,  as  well  as  for  the  special  life  of  the  work- 
man." 

However  this  may  be,  it  is  difficult  for  any  one 
who  is  accustomed  to  the  educational  ideas  of 
different  countries  to  regard  these  schools  as  other 
than  technical.  It  is  true  that  they  pay  attention 
to  general  instruction,  judging  from  their  time- 
tables, but  every  one  who  saw  their  very  fine 
exhibit  at  the  recent  Paris  Exhibition  was  struck 
chiefly  with  the  great  technical  skill  displayed  by 
their  pupils.  At  that  moment  they  were,  in  fact, 
considered  ripe  for  the  Ministry  of  Commerce  and 
Industry,  though  the  Ministry  of  Public  Instruction 
regarded  them  as  the  crown  of  the  two  hundred 
higher  primary  schools  for  boys.  The  most  striking 
objects  among  their  exhibits  were  an  agricultural 
locomotive,  a  petroleum  motor  working  a  dynamo, 
gates  of  forged  iron,  a  steam-engine,  and  various 
pieces  of  furniture.  Where  boys  are  taught  mainly 
to  make  such  things  as  these,  the  school  may  fairly 
173 


Practical  Schools  of  Commerce 

be  considered  technical.  Indeed,  one  cannot  refrain 
from  thinking  that  a  great  many  of  the  fine  dis- 
tinctions which  are  drawn  between  technical  and 
general  education  are  due  to  the  anxiety  of  the 
Ministry  of  Public  Instruction  to  maintain  its 
claim  to  the  schools  which  it  has  in  the  past 
controlled  with  such  marked  success.  There  are 
now  four  of  these  schools  :  Vierzon,  founded  in 
i88i  ;  Armentieres  and  Voiron,  in  1882;  and 
Nantes,  in  1898.  3,193  pupils  passed  through  these 
schools  between  the  years  1889  and  1899. 

Of  the  other  technical  schools  in  the  higher 
primary  sphere  we  may  notice  here  the  Practical 
Schools  of  Commerce  and  Industry  referred  to  in 
the  foregoing  pages.  It  has  been  seen  how  these 
schools  were  placed  under  the  sole  control  of  the 
Ministry  of  Commerce.*  Being  primary,  they 
come  under  the  law  making  all  primary  instruction 
free,  and  therefore  they  charge  no  fees.  There  are 
now  thirty-three  (thirty-one  actually  at  work  in 
1900)  of  these  schools  in  different  parts  of  France, 
founded  or  transformed  since  1892.  In  the  budget 
of  1889,  1,174,909  francs  were  voted  for  the 
encouragement  of  industrial  and  commercial  edu- 
cation, including  the  support  of  these  schools.  Of 
the  thirty-one  at  work  in  1900,  thirteen  give 
industrial  education  only,  two  commercial  instruc- 
tion only,  and  sixteen  both  kinds  of  instruction. 
*  Cf.  p.  162,  ei  sqq^  and  also  Comparative  Time-table  on  p.  167. 


and  Industry. 

In  1898  there  were  4000  boys  and  girls  attending 
the  twenty-seven  schools  of  this  kind  then  open. 

No  boy  or  girl  is  admitted  to  these  schools 
under  the  age  of  twelve.  If  the  candidate  for 
admission  be  under  thirteen  years  of  age,  the 
leaving  certificate  of  the  primary  school  must  be 
produced.  If  more  than  thirteen,  the  candidate  who 
is  not  in  possession  of  this  certificate  must  undergo 
an  examination.  In  any  case  a  competitive 
examination  may  be  held  for  admission  where 
the  number  of  candidates  is  greater  than  the 
number  of  places  vacant.  Provision  may  be  made 
for  boarders,  with  the  special  permission  of  the 
Minister.  This  is  sometimes  desirable  where  the 
schools  have  to  serve  a  large  district.  A  number 
of  scholarships  are  given  by  the  Ministry,  by  the 
departments,  and  by  the  communes,  both  for 
boarding  and  maintenance.  These  scholarships 
are  awarded  by  preference  to  the  children  of  poor 
parents,  who  intend  to  follow  the  normal  courses 
— that  is  to  say,  the  courses  which  prepare  directly 
for  a  profession  and  not  for  higher  technical  schools. 
The  scholarships  are  generally,  but  not  invariably, 
awarded  on  the  results  of  a  competitive  exami- 
nation, held  once  a  year. 

At    the   close    of   the    full    course,  in    both    the 

industrial  and  commercial  schools,  an  examination 

is  held  for  a  leaving  certificate.     To  obtain  these 

certificates  the  candidate  must  gain  not  less  than 

175 


Practical  Schools  of  Commerce 

an  average  of  twelve  marks  out  of  twenty,  and  in 
no  single  subject  less  than  five. 

The  masters  and  mistresses  in  these  schools 
must  hold  certificates  of  aptitude  as  head  or 
assistant  teacher,  as  the  case  may  be.  These 
certificates  are  awarded  on  the  results  of  a  very 
searching  examination,  regulated  by  the  ministerial 
decree.  As  usual,  these  examinations  are  both 
oral  and  written.  It  is  interesting  to  notice  that, 
in  the  case  of  the  teachers  in  the  commercial 
schools,  a  number  of  the  successful  candidates  at 
the  certificate  examination  are  awarded  scholar- 
ships to  enable  them  to  study  in  England,  Spain, 
or  Germany,  according  to  the  special  language  in 
which  they  have  proved  themselves  proficient  in 
the  examination.  They  must  leave  France  within 
a  month  of  the  close  of  the  examination,  and  reside 
for  ten  full  months  in  the  town  which  has  been 
selected  for  them.  The  holders  of  such  scholar- 
ships must  sign  an  engagement  to  serve  for  six 
years  in  a  Practical  School  of  Commerce  or 
Industry.  Every  two  months  they  must  send  to 
the  proper  authorities  a  report  of  their  doings  in 
the  foreign  country,  written  in  the  language  they 
are  studying.  On  their  return  from  abroad  they 
must  pass  a  further  examination.  One  part  of 
this  examination  consists  in  giving  a  lesson  on  a 
selected  commercial  subject  in  the  foreign  language, 
the  candidate  being  allowed  four  hours  to  prepare 
176 


and  Industry. 

the  lesson.  The  other  parts  of  the  examination 
consist  of  an  interrogation  on  political  economy 
and  the  history  of  commerce. 

Too  much  stress  cannot  be  laid  on  the  fact  that 
both  in  France  and  Germany  it  is  considered  that 
the  first  essential  to  efficient  schools  of  every  kind 
are  properly  qualified  teachers,  and  that  money 
and  thought  is  therefore  devoted  to  their  training. 

The  nature  of  the  Practical  Schools  of  Commerce 
and  Industry  may  best  be  understood  from  a  short 
account  of  one  of  them.  Not  the  least  well  known 
is  the  Practical  School  of  Industry  at  Saint- 
Etienne. 

In  1879  the  municipal  council  of  Saint-Etienne 
passed  a  resolution  in  favour  of  establishing  a 
technical  high  school.  But,  though  similar  reso- 
lutions were  adopted  on  several  subsequent  occa- 
sions, they  led  to  no  practical  result.  In  1882, 
however,  the  council  demanded  merely  an  ^cole 
professionnelle,  and,  at  the  same  sitting  in  which 
the  resolution  was  adopted,  voted  130,000  francs 
for  the  creation  of  such  a  school  in  a  large  house 
owned  by  the  municipality.  A  few  months  later 
this  plan  was  approved  by  the  superior  authorities, 
and  the  school  was  opened,  at  the  end  of  the  same 
year,  with  fifty-four  pupils.  It  was  soon  found 
necessary  to  provide  more  commodious  quarters, 
and  in  1884  the  municipality  began  to  construct 
a  suitable  building  on  a  large  piece  of  land 
177 


Practical  School  of  Industry  for  Boys. 

possessed  by  the  town.  In  eighteen  months  the 
school  was  at  work  in  its  new  quarters. 

When  the  buildings  were  opened,  the  equip- 
ment was  far  from  complete,  and  the  pupils 
themselves  were  set  to  work  to  supply  what  was 
still  wanting.  For  several  years,  during  the  first 
of  which  they  were  aided  by  a  professional  work- 
man, they  were  employed  in  making  the  necessary 
machines,  tools,  models,  and  various  apparatus. 
The  work  which  they  thus  performed  has  been 
estimated  at  the  value  of  35,000  francs. 

On  its  creation  the  school  received  the  title  of 
higher  primary  and  "  professional "  school,  and 
was  exclusively  under  the  control  of  the  Minister 
of  Public  Instruction  ;  but  later  it  was  placed  under 
the  dual  control  of  this  Minister  and  the  Minister 
of  Commerce.  Since  1892,  however,  the  latter 
Minister  has  been  solely  responsible  for  this 
school,  which  since  that  date  has  borne  its  present 
title. 

The  school  consists  of  two  buildings.  In  the 
first  is  carried  on  the  general  instruction,  and 
consists  of — five  class-rooms,  each  built  for  sixty 
pupils  ;  five  lecture-rooms  ;  one  chemical  amphi- 
theatre with  150  places  ;  a  chemical  laboratory;  a 
physical  amphitheatre  ;  a  laboratory  for  industrial 
electricity ;  a  large  art-room,  with  a  store-room 
for  models  ;  a  library  ;  a  museum,  etc. 

In  the  second  buildings  are  the  engine  (35  H.P.) 
178 


Practical  School  of  Industry  for  Boys. 

and  a  dynamo,  which  supplies  270  lamps  (20- 
candle  power),  one  arc  lamp,  and  the  electrical 
laboratory.  The  rest  of  the  building  consists  of 
the  different  workshops,  covering  altogether  1 400 
square  metres.  These  workshops  are  eight  in 
number :  namely,  two  mechanical  workshops,  a 
smiths'  shop,  a  workshop  for  armoury  and  in- 
dustrial electricity,  a  joiners'  and  pattern  shop, 
a  weaving  shed,  a  dyeing  and  bleaching  shed, 
and  a  sculpture  and  modelling  room. 

So  far,  673,000  francs  have  been  spent  on  this 
school,  divided  thus  : — • 

Building  and  equipment   455,000  francs. 

Plant 160,000      „ 

Teaching  material 58,000      ,, 

Total    673,000      ,, 

The  yearly  budget  of  the  school  shows  an  ex- 
penditure of  106,777  francs,  of  which  43,790  are 
provided  by  the  State,  and  62,987  by  the  town. 
The  Chamber  of  Commerce  gives  300  francs 
yearly  for  prizes  ;  two  other  prizes  of  lOO  francs 
have  been  given,  and  a  sum  of  40,000  francs  was 
bequeathed  for  the  same  purpose. 

The  length  of  the  course  at  the  Saint-Etienne 
school  is  four  years.  The  first  year  is  called  the 
preparatory  year.  During  this  year  the  elementary 
education  of  the  pupils  is  completed,  and  they 
pass  through  all  the  different  workshops  in  order 
13  179 


Practical  School  of  Industry  for  Boys. 

that  their  special  aptitudes  and  tastes  may  be 
determined.  The  number  of  hours  per  week 
generally  devoted  to  each  subject  in  all  schools 
of  this  sort  are  shown  by  the  official  time-tables. 
In  this  school,  however,  the  hours  are  reduced — 
a  reduction  which  is  justified  by  the  existence 
of  the  preparatory  year  in  addition  to  the  courses 
decreed  by  the  official  regulations,  and  which  is 
necessitated  by  the  fact  that  the  families  of  many 
of  the  pupils  live  so  far  away  that  it  is  impossible 
for  them  to  come  to  school  before  7.30  a.m.  or  to 
remain  after  6.30  p.m. 

The  following  note  in  the  official  account  of  this 
school,  from  which  the  above  information  has 
been  derived,  is  instructive,  as  showing  the  fear 
ever  present  in  the  minds  of  the  French  educational 
authorities  of  encouraging  ambitions  which  pupils 
may  not  in  after  life  be  able  to  satisfy.  It  states 
that,  Saint-Etienne,  like  other  schools  of  the  same 
type,  prepares  candidates  for  higher  technical 
schools. 

"But,"  it  adds,  "it  is  all  important  to  avoid 
making  declassh ;  therefore  these  candidates  do 
not,  properly  speaking,  form  a  special  section. 
Indeed,  they  follow  the  same  courses  as  the  other 
pupils.  ...  It  is  only  during  the  year  which 
precedes  their  examinations,  and  during  a  part 
of  the  time  which  is  devoted  to  work  in  the  shops, 
that  they  receive  private  instruction  in  the  subjects 
180 


Practical  School  of  Industry  for  Boys. 

of  the  examinations  for  admission  to  the  higher 
schools.  Thus,  in  case  of  failure,  they  are  not 
stranded  {devoyh')  ;  they  can,  like  their  fellow- 
pupils,  enter  a  workshop  or  factory.  Moreover, 
pupils  are  admitted  to  this  special  instruction 
only  at  their  own  request,  and  if  they  are  found 
to  possess  the  necessary  ability." 

In  the  years  1894  to  1899  there  were  116  such 
candidates  who  presented  themselves  at  the  ex- 
aminations for  admission  to  the  technical  schools 
of  a  higher  grade.  Out  of  these  seventy-two  proved 
successful.  During  the  same  period  four  pupils  on 
leaving  the  school  entered  a  lycee,  two  of  whom 
proceeded  thence  to  higher  technical  schools. 

In  1900  there  were  more  than  four  hundred 
boys  in  this  school.  At  first  it  attracted  only 
the  children  of  the  working-classes,  and  some 
who  had  proved  unsuccessful  in  other  kinds  of 
schools  ;  but  now  foremen,  managers,  employers, 
and  persons  still  higher  in  the  industrial  scale, 
send  their  children  to  be  taught  there.  Thirty- 
two  of  the  pupils  hold  scholarships.  Of  the 
scholarships  awarded  on  examination,  one  pupil 
holds  one  of  500  francs,  nine  hold  scholarships  of 
250  francs,  and  twelve  scholarships  of  125  francs. 
Five  pupils  also  hold  scholarships  of  250  francs 
and  five  of  125  francs,  which  were  awarded  with- 
out competitive  examination.  All  these  scholar- 
ships were  granted  by  the  State,  neither  the 
181 


A  Practical  School  of  Commerce 

department  nor  the  town  giving  any  assistance  in 
this  way.  There  is  no  boarding  establishment 
connected  with  the  institution. 

Perhaps  the  best  test  which  can  be  applied  to  the 
practical  benefits  to  be  derived  from  such  a  school 
is  that  of  the  wages  its  pupils  receive  in  later  life 
compared  with  those  of  men  who  receive  no  such 
education.  An  inquiry  was  made  in  this  con- 
nection with  regard  to  730  pupils.  Of  these, 
those  who  had  left  the  school  in  the  middle  or  at 
the  end  of  the  third  year  were  earning  4*50  francs 
at  the  age  of  twenty  ;  those  who  had  left  it  at 
the  middle  or  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  year  were 
earning  5*20  francs  at  the  same  age.  The  school 
authorities  remark  that  this  is  better  than  the 
I  franc  a  day  earned  by  young  men  who  have  had 
no  such  education. 

In  the  same  town  there  is  a  Practical  School  of 
Commerce  and  Industry  for  girls,  but  a  brief  account 
of  a  similar  school  at  Havre  may  prove  more  in- 
teresting. The  early  history  of  this  school  was 
much  the  same  as  that  of  the  boys  at  Saint- 
Etienne.  It  is  now  located  in  a  building  specially 
constructed  for  the  purpose  in  1880.  It  contains 
five  class-rooms,  one  music-room,  one  art-room, 
three  cutting-out  rooms,  one  ironing-room,  one 
kitchen,  one  trying-on  room.  The  sewing  and 
ironing  rooms  contain  the  following  equipment : — 

Four  sewing  -  machines  ;  twenty-  one  dress- 
182 


and  Industry  for  Girls. 

makers*  models  of  different  sizes  ;  irons  for  press- 
ing seams  ;  embroidery  frames  of  different  sorts. 
A  separate  building  contains :  the  ironing-room 
(with  irons  for  polishing,  goffering,  etc.) ;  the 
laundry,  with  various  washing  and  drying 
machines. 

The  town  of  Havre  undertook  all  the  expenses 
of  construction,  amounting  to  about  198,000  francs, 
together  with  18,000  francs  for  later  improvements. 
The  school   costs  the   town    about  29,000    francs 
a  year,  but  against  this  must  be  set  4500  francs 
produced  by  the  work  of  the  pupils.      The  only 
other  resources  are  about  4000  francs    from   the 
State,    and    100   francs    from   the    department   in 
which  the  town  is  situated.      In    1899  there  were 
105   girls  in  the  commercial    and   156  in   the   in- 
dustrial    section.      The    following     statistics    are 
interesting.    In  1897  sixty-five  pupils  were  being 
instructed  in  dressmaking,  fifty-five  in  the  making 
of   underlinen,    twelve    in    ironing,    eight    in   mil- 
linery,   and    fifteen    in    art    needlework.       In    the 
School    of    Commerce    there    were    eighty  pupils. 
Five  of  these,  on   leaving   the   school,  entered    a 
training-college    for    primary    teachers,    and    four 
went  into   business.     Twenty-eight  pupils  took  up 
industrial     occupations,    or    went    back    to    their 
families    to   exercise    different    professions ;    four 
went  to  England,  and  eighty-five  obtained  various 
certificates.     It  is   found  that  about  one-third  of 
1S3 


Ecoles  Nationales  d'Arts  et  Metiers. 

the  pupils  in  the  industrial  section  return  to  their 
families  on  leaving  the  school,  and  do  not  take 
up  independent  employment. 

In  connection  with  this  school  the  Friendly 
Association  of  past  and  present  pupils  should  be 
noticed.  This  association,  which  meets  as  often 
as  possible  in  the  school,  consists  of  i66  present 
pupils  and  105  past  pupils  and  their  friends. 
Such  associations  have  proved  a  great  success 
in  connection  with  many  French  schools.  They 
possess  numerous  advantages,  and  are  particularly 
useful  in  helping  pupils  to  find  situations  on 
leaving  the  school. 

Above  the  Practical  Schools  of  Commerce  and 
Industry — but  not  in  any  way  complementary  to 
them,  in  the  sense  that  the  lower  prepare  pupils 
for  the  higher — come  the  Ecoles  Nationales  d^ Arts 
et  Metiers.  In  1788  the  Duke  of  La  Roche- 
foucault-Liancourt  founded  a  school,  in  one  of 
his  farms  near  Liancourt,  for  the  sons  of  the 
non-commissioned  officers  of  his  regiment  of 
cavalry.  His  idea  was  that  these  children  should 
learn  a  trade  while  undergoing  the  ordinary  course 
of  general  instruction.  In  1 799  the  Government 
of  the  Republic  declared  this  school  national,  and 
transferred  it  to  Compiegne.  When  Napoleon 
was  first  Consul  he  visited  this  school.  As  a 
result  of  his  observation  of  the  ignorance  of 
French  workmen  he  remarked — 
184 


Ecoles  Nationales  d'Arts  et  Metiers, 

"  Everywhere  I  have  found  foremen  dis- 
tinguished in  their  art,  and  displaying  remark- 
able skill  in  execution,  but  hardly  one  who  was 
able  to  make  a  sketch  or  the  simplest  mechanical 
calculation,  or  who  was  able  to  express  his  ideas 
by  a  drawing  or  in  writing.  There  is  thus  a  want 
in  French  industry  which  I  mean  to  supply  here. 
We  will  have  no  more  Latin  (that  will  be  taught 
in  the  lycees  which  are  going  to  be  organized),  but 
trades  must  be  taught  with  the  theory  necessary 
for  their  promotion.  Here  shall  be  formed  excel- 
lent foremen  for  our  factories." 

As  a  result  the  school  of  Compiegne  was  re- 
organized in  1803  ;  and  in  1806,  owing  to  the 
increase  in  the  number  of  its  pupils,  it  was  re- 
moved to  more  commodious  premises  in  Chalons- 
sur-Marne.  In  1803  a  similar  school  was  opened 
in  Beaupreau,  which  was  transferred,  in  181 5,  to 
Angers.  In  1843,  a  third  of  these  schools  was 
started  in  Aix,  and  a  fourth  has  recently  been 
established  in  Lille. 

There  is  no  more  interesting  chapter  in  the 
history  of  French  technical  education  than  that 
which  relates  the  development  of  these  schools. 
At  the  outset,  in  the  school  of  Compiegne,  pupils 
were  admitted  at  the  age  of  eight,  and  until  twelve 
they  were  taught  reading,  writing,  the  elements  of 
French  grammar,  arithmetic  (the  four  rules  and 
fractions),  and  the  elements  of  geometry  and 
drawing.  Then  followed  descriptive  and  machine 
drawing,  and,  for  the  brighter  pupils,  mechanics. 
185 


Ecoles  Nationales  d'Arts  et  Metiers. 

There  were  five  different  kinds  of  workshops  in 
the  school.  There  appears  to  have  been  no  fixed 
length  to  the  course  of  studies,  some  of  the  boys 
remaining  even  ten  years.  Without  tracing  these 
schools  through  all  the  political  changes  which 
affected  them,  we  need  only  notice  that  in  1832 
the  upper  and  lower  limits  of  age  were  placed  at 
fifteen  and  seventeen  respectively.  At  the  same 
time  it  was  decreed  that  a  competitive  examina- 
tion should  be  held  for  admission.  From  1885 
onwards  the  course  of  studies  in  these  schools  was 
gradually  widened  and  raised  to  a  higher  level. 
But  in  spite  of  the  very  high  standard  which  they 
had  attained,  it  was  again  repeated,  in  a  decree  of 
1899,  that  the  object  of  these  schools  was  "to  train 
workmen  capable  of  becoming  the  heads  of  work- 
shops, and  manufacturers  versed  in  the  practice  of 
the  mechanical  arts."  Once  more  in  the  official 
account  of  these  schools  we  find  the  same  insist- 
ence on  the  practical  aim  of  the  education  they 
should  afford,  and  evidence  of  the  same  desire  to 
discourage  ambition  which  may  lead  the  pupils 
into  paths  which  are  already  overcrowded.  Having 
pointed  out  that  the  distinguishing  feature  of  these 
schools  is  manual  instruction  in  the  workshop,  to 
which  not  less  than  six  hours  a  day  is  devoted, 
this  account  proceeds  as  follows  : — "  Thanks  to 
such  a  training,  followed  for  three  years,  there 
is  not  a  certificated  pupil  of  the  Ecoles  Nationales, 

186 


Ecoles  Nationales  d'Arts  et  Metiers. 

whether  he  be  a  fitter,  pattern-maker,  founder,  or 
smith,  who  cannot  boldly  take  his  place  in  a  work- 
shop, and,  after  a  short  time,  honourably  gain  his 
living  there." 

It  is  then  stated  that  all  the  "  best  inspired " 
of  the  pupils  follow  such  a  course  on  leaving 
the  schools,  and  that  this  tendency  is  strongly 
encouraged  by  the  authorities.  Hopes  are  held 
out  that  in  this  way  the  instruction  which  the 
pupils  have  received  will  enable  them  to  pass 
rapidly  through  all  the  grades  of  the  army  of 
work,  and  justifies  them  in  aspiring  to  the  highest 
situations  in  the  industrial  world. 

As  might  be  expected,  these  schools  are  under  the 
control  of  the  Minister  of  Commerce.  Their  teachers 
are  all  carefully  selected,  professional  preparation 
being  insisted  on  as  in  the  case  of  other  schools 
in  France.  At  one  time  day  pupils  were  admitted, 
now  they  take  boarders  only.  No  candidate  is 
admitted  to  the  competitive  examination  for 
admission  unless  he  is  of  French  nationality,  and 
not  less  than  fifteen  or  more  than  seventeen  years 
old.  It  is  significant  that,  after  1903,  no  one  will 
be  admitted  who  does  not  hold  the  leaving  cer- 
tificate of  a  higher  primary  school,  or  of  a  practical 
school  of  industry.  As  a  compensation  for  these 
increased  demands,  the  upper  limit  of  age  will  be 
raised  by  nine  months.  The  object  of  this  new 
regulation  is  to  ensure  a  higher  attainment  of 
187 


Ecoles  Nationales  d'Arts  et  Mdtiers. 

general  culture  among  the  candidates  for  admission, 
it  having  been  found  here,  as  generally  elsewhere, 
that  where  examination  is  alone  employed  as  a 
test  it  often  fails  in  its  object,  and  encourages 
"cramming"  at  the  expense  of  proper  education.  It 
may  be  inferred  from  this  new  regulation,  that  it  is 
not  desired  that  the  pupils  in  these  schools  should 
have  passed  through  any  stage  of  secondary  educa- 
tion. This  is  not  surprising  when  it  is  remembered 
that  the  tendency  in  France  is,  as  has  already 
been  stated,  to  discourage  the  children  of  the  lower 
commercial  and  industrial  classes  from  attending 
the  secondary  school. 

The  popularity  of  the  Ecoles  Nationales  d'Arts 
et  Metiers  may  be  judged  from  the  fact,  that,  in 
1899,  no  less  than  1348  candidates  presented 
themselves  at  the  competitive  examination  for 
300  vacant  places.  The  time-table  on  pp.  190,  191 
will  show  the  nature  of  the  work  in  these  schools. 

It  will  be  seen  that  Table  A  represents  only 
the  theoretical  side  of  the  instruction.  Classes  of 
industrial  hygiene,  and  moral  and  civic  instruction, 
have  recently  been  added. 

The  practical  instruction  is  carried  on  in  four 
workshops,  viz.  the  fitting-shop,  the  smithy,  etc., 
the  pattern-shop,  and  the  foundry.  On  entering 
the  school  the  pupils  are  divided  among  these 
different  workshops.  It  is  found  that,  taking  into 
account  the  needs  and  the  preferences  of  the  boys 
188 


Ecoles  Nationales  d'Arts  et  Metiers. 

themselves,  out  of  one  hundred  new  pupils,  seventy- 
enter  the  fitting-shop,  and  the  rest  are  divided 
equally  among  the  others.  At  the  end  of  the 
third  year,  each  lad  is  required  to  spend  a  certain 
time  in  that  workshop  which  is  most  closely  con- 
nected with  the  one  in  which  he  has  been  receiving 
instruction  ;  for  instance,  the  fitters  pass  into  the 
smithy,  and  the  pattern-makers  to  the  foundry. 
Six  hours  a  day  is  devoted  to  manual  instruction. 
The  British  Technical  Instruction  Commissioners, 
in  their  Report  of  1884,  gave  the  following  account 
of  the  work  they  found  going  on  in  the  Chalons 
school  : — 

"  In  the  fitting-shop,  which  is  divided  into  three 
sections,  one  of  which  corresponds  with  each  year 
of  training,  there  is  a  large  stock  of  plant,  an 
engine  and  boiler,  which  the  other  students  manage 
in  turn  for  a  week  each,  as  stoker  and  driver,  and 
a  tool-store  from  which  the  necessary  tools  are 
issued  ;  the  students  make  squares,  compasses,  vices, 
etc.  In  the  second  year,  they  pass  on  to  detached 
portions  of  machinery,  and  make  small  simple 
machines.  In  the  third  year,  they  are  employed  in 
the  production  of  machines  eitlier  for  actual  use 
in  the  school,  or  for  sale  outside.  The  school, 
in  undertaking  contracts  for  work,  will  not  bind 
itself  to  deliver  at  a  given  date,  and  therefore  does 
not  compete  with  any  manufacturing  establish- 
ment, 

"  The  foundry  contains  three  cupolas,  one  of 
which  serves  for  heavy  castings  ;  among  the  objects 
cast,  are  headstocks,  and  beds  for  lathes,  and 
frames   for    spmning-machines.      At    the    time  of 

189 


feCOLES   NATIONALES 
A. — Arrangement  of 


First  Year.' 

Second 

First  Half-year. 

Second  Half-year. 

First  Half-year. 

S  c 

V  c 

fc  c 

^  o 

■0  0 

Subject. 

Subject. 

Num 
of  less 

Subject. 

63 

Algebra. 

2=; 

Geometry 

6 

Descriptive 

Geometry        . 

24 

Descriptive 

geometry 

7 

Descriptive 

geometry 

17 

Kinematics 

28 

geometry     . 

16 

Higher 

Physics 

18 

Literature 

16 

mathematics 

10 

Chemistry 

18 

Technology    . 

16 

Cosmography, 
sur  V  e  y  i  n  g, 

Literature 
Geography 

10 
8 

and  levelling 

14 

Technology 

17 

Trigonometry 

20 

Literature 

16 

Technology   . 

17 

Total 

97 

Total 

100 

Total 

106 

Total  for  first  ye 

ar  :    197  lessons. 

Total  for  second 

General  Total  for  the 


B. — Division 

Every  Week-day. — 5. 30,  Rise.  5-So,  Recreation.  6,  Pre- 
9.30,  Workshop.  12,  Dinner.  12.20,  Recreation.  1. 30,  Drawing. 
Preparation,     8.45,  Recreation.     9,  Bedtime. 

Sunday. — 6.30,  Rise.  6.50,  Recreation.  7  to  8,  Preparation 
9.30  to  12,  Recreation.  12,  Dinner,  i  to  5,  Walk.  5  to  5.45, 
8,  Bedtime  in  winter  ;  9,  Bedtime  in  summer. 

190 


D'ARTS   ET   METIERS. 
Classes  for  the  Year. 


Year. 

Third  Year. 

Second  Half-year. 

First  Half-year. 

Second  Half-year. 

Subject. 

il 

Subject. 

^-0 

Subject. 

II 

Kinematics   . 

33 

Mechanics 

'^A- 

Mechanics 

49 

Physics 
Chemistry 

17 
16 

Electricity 
Literature 

18 

7 

Electricity 
Metallurgy     . 

4 
12 

Literature 

9 

History 

10 

French  . 

7 

Geography    . 

8 

Industrial 

History 

10 

Technology  . 

17 

book  -  keep- 
ing,      indus- 
trial economy 
and      g  e  0- 

Indus  trial 
book  -  keep- 
ing,      indus- 
trial economy 

graphy 

Elements       of 
industrial  and 

12 

and      g  e  0  - 

graphy 
Elements      of 

II 

coramer  c  i  a  1 

industrial  and 

law      .          t 

5 

commer  c  i  a  1 
law 

5 

Total 

100 

Total 

106 

Total 

98 

year  :  206  lessoi 

IS. 

Total  for  tl 

lird  yi 

ar :  204  lessons. 

three  years  :  607  lessons. 


OF  Time. 


paration.     7.30,  Breakfast.     7-45>  Recreation.     8   to  9.30,  Cla<;s. 
3.15,    Workshop.     7,    Supper.     7.20,  Recreation.     7.30  to  8.45, 


(drawing),     8,  Breakfast.     9,  Preparation  or  devotional  exercises. 
Recreation.    5.45  to  7,  Preparation.     7,  Supper.    7.30,  Recreation. 


191 


Ecoles  Nationales  d'Arts  et  Metiers. 

our  visit  they  were  at  work  on  a  casting  weighing 
30  cwt. 

"The  smithy  has  eight  forges.  Two  students 
work  at  each,  and  take  it  in  turns  to  act  as  smith 
and  striker.  Among  the  articles  made  are  vices, 
screw  presses,  copying  presses,  etc. 

"The  pattern-shop  has  places  made  for  one 
hundred  students  :  it  is  well  provided  with  tools, 
and  admirably  arranged.  Patterns  are  made  for 
lathe-headstocks,  beds  for  lathes  and  planing 
machines,  driving-puUies,  etc." 


At  the  end  of  each  year  an  examination  is  held 
for  admission  to  the  succeeding  year's  course. - 
This  admission  is  not  granted  to  any  pupil  who  has 
not  obtained  at  least  eleven-twentieths  of  the  total 
number  of  marks,  and  not  less  than  six-twentieths 
in  any  particular  subject.  The  marks  awarded  in 
these  intermediate  examinations  go  to  decide  the 
position  occupied  by  the  pupils  on  leaving  the 
school.  Those  who  pass  the  leaving  examination 
obtain  the  title  of  "  certificated  pupil  of  the  Ecoles 
Nationales  cT  Arts  et  Me  tier  s^  The  pupil  who 
comes  out  first  at  the  end  of  the  course  receives  a 
gold  medal.  Those  whose  general  average  of 
marks  is  not  less  than  fifteen  out  of  twenty,  and  in 
no  particular  subject  less  than  eleven  out  of  twenty 
receive  silver  medals.  The  first  fifteen  pupils,  who, 
due  allowance  being  made  for  their  military  service, 
within  two  years  after  leaving  the  school,  spend  a 
year  in  an  industrial  workshop,  receive  a  prize  of 

192 


Ecoles  Nationales  d'Arts  et  Metiers. 

£$o.  The  total  fees,  including  boarding,  are  about 
£^S  a  year.  There  are,  however,  numerous  scholar- 
ships. The  number  of  pupils  per  school  does  not 
exceed  three  hundred.  The  total  expenses  of  the 
three  schools  of  Aix,  Angers,  and  Chalons  amount 
to  more  than  ^52,000  a  year. 

In  relation  to  what  has  been  said  of  the  checks 
to  social  ambitions  provided  by  such  schools  as 
those  under  consideration,  it  may  be  noted  that 
a  certain  number  of  pupils  proceed  hence  to  the 
Eco/e  Centrale  des  Arts  et  Manufacttires*  They 
thus  avoid  the  secondary  school  altogether.  As 
a  result,  it  is  found  that  they  experience  con- 
siderable difficulty  at  the  outset  with  the  theoretical 
work  in  the  Ecole  Centrale.  Being  picked  pupils, 
they  surmount  this  difficulty  in  a  short  time.  The 
discipline  in  these  schools  is  marked  by  the  same 
rigour,  and  there  is  the  same  absence  of  sports  and 
physical  amusements  as  is  to  be  found  in  most 
French  boarding-schools.  The  custom  of  wearing 
school  uniforms  is  also  maintained. 

Those  who  search  in  France  for  a  well- 
organized  and  clearly  defined  system  of  schools 
under  State  control  will  experience  difficulty  in 
discovering  the  exact  place  filled  in  such  a 
system  by  some  of  the  technical  schools.  Those, 
for  instance,  of  the  type  of  the  National  Prac- 
tical School  for  workmen  and  foremen  at  Cluny 

•  See  p.  196. 


The  School  at  Cluny. 

would  seem  at  first  sight  to  be  unnecessary.  It 
is,  at  any  rate,  instructive — as  again  showing  the 
pains  taken  by  the  French  nation  to  check  over- 
weening ambition — to  read  the  explanation  of  the 
need  of  this  school  offered  by  the  Minister  of 
Commerce  to  the  French  Parliament  in  1891.  He 
stated  that  the  Ecoles  Nationales  d' Arts  et  Metiers 
had  so  extended  their  programme,  in  response  to 
the  increased  demands  of  industry,  that  they  could 
no  longer  claim  merely  to  train  the  non-com- 
missioned officers  of  the  industrial  army.  There 
was  still,  however,  a  need  to  train  foremen,  in  the 
strictest  sense  of  the  word.  A  series  of  institutions 
was  therefore  necessary  which  would  fill  the  place 
formerly  occupied  by  the  Ecoles  d' Arts  et  Metiers. 
Further,  he  said  that  these  schools  had  created  a 
new  class  of  d^voyis  and  declasses.  They  refused 
admission  every  year  to  a  number  of  boys  who  had 
passed  the  entrance  examination,  but  for  whom 
they  were  unable  to  find  room.  And,  moreover, 
a  number  of  those  who  were  admitted  were  found, 
after  beginning  their  studies,  to  be  unable  to 
continue  them  beyond  a  certain  point,  owing  to  the 
weakness  of  their  former  education.  Such  weak- 
ness cannot  always  be  detected  by  examination. 
The  Minister  calculated  that  this  class  numbered 
about  three  hundred  every  year. 

The  chief  differences  between  the  Cluny  school 
and  the  Ecoles  d'Arts  et  Metiers  are,  first,  the  lower 

194 


Technical  High  Schools. 

fees,  which  here  are  about  £^4.  a  year  ;  secondly, 
the  lower  standard  of  knowledge  demanded  at  the 
entrance  examination  ;  and  thirdly,  the  greater 
number  of  hours  given  to  manual  training  in  the 
course  of  instruction.  It  is  impossible,  before  turn- 
ing to  the  higher  technical  schools  in  France,  to  do 
more  than  mention  the  two  National  Schools  of 
Watch  and  Clockmaking  at  Cluses  and  Besan^on. 
In  France,  as  in  Germany,  there  are  technical 
High  Schools  of  university  rank.  Such  institu- 
tions may  be  said  to  be  distinguished  from  the 
universities  only  in  that  they  provide  a  special 
education,  based  on  a  general  secondary  educa- 
tion, either  modern  or  classical,  for  industrial 
and  commercial  occupations,  while  the  latter 
provide  a  special  education,  based  on  classical 
secondary  education,  for  the  learned  professions. 
Such  schools  are  far  removed  from  the  necessity 
of  placing  any  checks  on  ambition  ;  the  men  and 
women  for  whom  they  provide  education  have 
already  proved  themselves  capable  of  entering  upon 
any  career  which  is  open  to  the  highest  merit.  It  is 
these  schools  for  which  the  need  has  not  yet  been 
fully  recognized  in  England.  Starting  from  the 
bottom,  we  seem  at  last  to  be  nearing  that  stage  in 
the  development  of  our  educational  system  where 
an  attempt  may  be  made  to  raise  such  schools  on 
the  foundations  already  laid.  In  France  and  Ger- 
many, on  the  other  hand,  as  soon  as  the  need  for 
14  19s 


Ecole  Centrale. 

such  schools  was  recognized  they  were  created,  and 
the  schools  of  a  lower  grade  were  remodelled,  if  it 
was  necessary,  so  as  to  supply  the  higher  institutions 
with  properly  prepared  pupils.  But  the  people  of 
these  two  countries  perceived  that  a  sound  general 
secondary  education — rather  than  preliminary  in- 
struction in  any  special  branches  of  knowledge — 
was  the  only  reliable  basis  for  all  education  of 
university  grade  ;  and  it  was  for  this  reason  that 
they  were  able  to  carry  on  these  schools  success- 
fully, at  a  time  when  we  were  trying  to  supply 
their  place  by  educational  "  short  cuts,"  dear  to  the 
practical,  or  rather  utilitarian,  minds  of  the  last 
generation  and  its  predecessor  in  England.  These 
technical  High  Schools  may  be  divided  into  two 
distinct  classes :  industrial  and  commercial.  The 
oldest  are  the  industrial  High  Schools. 

The  Ecole  Centrale  des  Arts  et  Mamifactures  is 
as  well  known  to  any  Frenchman  as  the  most 
famous  of  his  universities.  It  was  founded  through 
private  initiative  in  1829.  One  of  the  chief  reasons 
advanced  for  establishing  such  an  institution  was 
the  need  of  training  a  body  of  engineers  (in  the 
more  restricted  and  higher  French  sense  of  the 
term)  who  could  rival  those  to  be  found  in  England. 
Having  survived  the  political  tumult  of  the  next 
quarter  of  a  century,  the  school  had  attained  such 
a  height  of  success  in  1857  ^^^^^  its  pupils  numbered 
475,  and  it  made  a  nett  annual  profit  of  ^^^3560. 

196 


Ecole  Centrale. 

At  this  period  the  fees  were  ;^32  a  year.  The 
director  of  the  school,  who  had  supphed  the  funds 
necessary  for  its  estabhshment,  now  presented  it 
as  it  stood  to  the  State.  He  refused  the  offer  of  a 
milHon  francs  from  former  pupils  for  the  purpose 
of  placing  it  under  the  control  of  a  private  company. 
The  only  return  he  demanded  from  the  State, 
besides  pensions  for  his  collaborators,  was  the 
promise  that  the  profits  should  in  the  future  be 
devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  school. 

The  need  had  now  become  imperative  for  more 
suitable  buildings  than  those  in  which  it  was 
located,  and  in  1884  it  was  removed  to  the 
magnificent  quarters  which  it  now  occupies.  From 
the  profits  accruing  since  1857  the  school  itself  was 
able  to  contribute  no  less  than  /^y  1,680  to  the  cost 
of  the  new  building  ;  the  town  of  Paris  contributed 
;^40,8oo  in  the  form  of  a  reduction  on  the  price  of 
the  land  which  it  sold  to  the  State.  The  total  cost 
of  the  new  establishment  was  about  ;!^43 1,554. 
Owing  to  the  great  expense  thus  incurred  it  was 
considered  advisable  to  raise  the  fees  tO;^36  for  the 
first  year's  course,  and  £40  for  that  of  each  of  the 
two  succeeding  years.  From  this  time  onwards 
the  school  has  continued  to  prosper,  and  the  number 
of  pupils  has  slightly  increased. 

One  of  the  first  actions  of  the  State  after  taking 
over  the  Ecole  Centrale  was  to  establish  a  com- 
petitive   entrance     examination.        Hitherto    the 
197 


Ecole  Centrale. 

secondary  schools  had  generally  decided  which  of 
the  pupils  leaving  them  were  worthy  of  admission 
to  the  Ecole  Centrale.  The  new  regulations  now 
obliged  many  of  the  secondary  schools  to  create 
special  classes,  resembling  in  some  respects  the 
army  classes  in  our  public  schools,  to  prepare  for 
this  entrance  examination.*  The  change  is  said 
to  have  resulted  in  raising  the  standard  of  attain- 
ments. Each  year  about  240  pupils  were  admitted. 
Both  Frenchmen  and  foreigners  are  admitted,  but 
since  1870  the  number  of  foreigners  attending 
the  school  has  been  reduced  to  a  negligible 
quantity. 

The  difficulty  presented  by  the  exigencies  of 
military  service  for  the  great  majority  of  the  young 
men  attending  the  Ecole  Centrale  is  surmounted  m 
the  following  manner.  On  entering  the  school 
they  enlist  for  four  years,  and  during  the  three 
years,  in  which  they  pursue  their  studies,  they 
receive,  in  the  school,  military  instruction  accord- 
ing to  official  regulations.  On  leaving  the  school 
they  have,  therefore,  only  one  year  to  serve,  and 
having  received  special  preparation  for  an  officer's 
examination,  they  generally  serve  this  year  as 
second-lieutenants  in  the  reserve,  generally  in 
an  artillery  regiment. 

None  of  the  students  in  the  Ecole  Centi-ale  are 
boarders,  but   they  spend   the  entire    day   in    the 

*  Cf.  Table  facing  p.  170. 
198 


Ecole  Centrale. 

school.  Work  begins  at  8.30  a.m.  During  the 
morning  there  are  two  classes  of  an  hour  and  a 
half  each.  At  noon  lunch  is  taken  in  a  restaurant 
on  the  premises.  From  i  p.m.  to  4  p.m.  there  is 
laboratory  work,  drawing,  etc.  From  4  p.m.  to 
6  p.m.,  on  most  days,  military  drill,  or  classes  on 
military  art  are  held. 

The  fundamental  principle  of  all  the  teaching  is 
that  enunciated  by  the  founders  of  the  school,  in 
the  saying :  "  The  science  of  industry  is  one  and 
indivisible  ;  every  manufacturer  or  leader  of 
industry  must  know  it  in  its  entirety  or  remain 
unequal  to  his  task."  Accordingly  all  the  students 
follow  the  same  course  of  studies.  Towards  the 
end  of  the  second  year,  it  is  true,  they  are  divided 
into  four  classes,  according  as  they  intend  to 
specialize  in  mechanics,  engineering,  mining  and 
metallurgy,  or  chemistry.  But  even  then  speciali- 
zation is  reduced  to  a  minimum,  all  the  students 
still  following  all  the  classes  while  studying  the 
special  application  of  science  to  their  own  particular 
branch.  It  is  considered  in  France  that,  owing 
to  thus  emphasizing  the  need  of  a  general  know- 
ledge of  the  different  branches  of  industry,  the 
school  has  been  successful  in  preparing  students 
who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  every  depart- 
ment of  industrial  activity. 

At  the  end  of  the  third  year,  after  having  passed 
through  the  whole  course,  the  student  enters  for 
199 


fecole  Centrale. 

the  diploma.  To  obtain  this  he  has  to  compose 
a  thesis  or  '■'project^'  on  the  special  one  of  the  four 
branches  which  he  has  selected.  In  1884,  the 
British  Technical  Instruction  Commissioners  stated 
in  their  report  that  they  "  inspected  several  of  the 
theses  of  the  outgoing  students  of  former  years, 
in  each  of  the  (above)  departments,  and  were  much 
struck  with  the  detailed  character  of  the  work, 
and  especially  with  the  completeness  of  the  draw- 
ings.    The  students  are  allowed  to  work  at  home, 

o 

but  have  to  produce  the  calculations,  descriptions, 
and  drawings,  within  one  month  from  the  time  at 
which  the  subject  is  given  out,  and  the  whole  work 
is  carefully  examined  by  a  council  of  professors,  the 
student  being  examined  on  the  details  of  his  theses." 

The  Commissioners,  however,  submitted  another 
of  these  theses  to  a  well-known  English  manufac- 
turer, who  considered  that,  among  other  defects,  it 
showed  a  want  of  knowledge  of  the  practical  con- 
ditions of  manufacture.  Such  a  knowledge  the 
student  is,  of  course,  intended  to  acquire  when  he 
actually  enters  industrial  life.  And  the  success  in 
life  of  the  pupils  in  the  Ecole  Centrale  proves  that 
they  lose  nothing  by  continuing  their  theoretical 
education  beyond  the  age  at  which  we  believe  that 
facts  and  practical  conditions  can  alone  supply 
useful  training. 

As  showing  how  the  peculiar  conditions  of  its 
national  life  will  influence  each  people  in  the  details 
200 


Ecole  Centrale. 

and  organization  of  its  education,  the  following 
anecdote  is  interesting.  When  I  was  visiting  the 
Ecole  Centrale,  last  year,  the  eminent  director  of 
the  school  explained  to  me  the  different  reasons 
for  insisting  on  general  education  in  the  sense 
explained  above.  Among  other  practical  benefits 
to  be  derived  from  not  specializing,  he  pointed 
to  one  which  would  certainly  be  overlooked  by 
Englishmen.  He  said  that  it  not  infrequently 
happened  that  a  student  who  entered  life  as  an 
engineer,  for  instance,  married  the  daughter  of  a 
manufacturer  in  one  of  the  other  three  divisions 
of  industry.  But,  having  been  trained  in  all  four, 
the  fortunate  student  had  no  difficulty  in  transfer- 
ring his  abilities  to  that  branch  of  industry  favoured 
by  his  father-in-law — which  he  would  be  probably 
expected  to  do.  Apparently  the  director  thought 
that  I  showed  signs  of  incredulity  as  to  this  appli- 
cation of  the  principle  of  inariagcs  de  convenance ; 
for,  on  meeting  me  in  public  one  evening  shortly 
after,  he  introduced  me  to  a  former  student  of  the 
school,  who  related  how  he  was  just  about  to  con- 
tract such  a  marriage.  It  was  entirely  due,  he 
said,  to  his  having  passed  through  the  general 
course  of  the  Ecole  Centrale  that  he  was  able  to 
satisfy  an  essential  condition  of  the  bargain 
and  renounce  engineering  in  favour  of  chemical 
industry,  in  which  branch  his  prospective  father- 
in-law  had  built  up  a  very  successful  business. 
201 


Ecole  Centrale. 


The    following   tables     in    connection  with  the 
Ecole  Centrale  give  interesting  details  : — 

I. 

Total  number  of  pupils  who  have  passed  through  the 

school  (including  those  who  left  in  1899)   795° 

Former  pupils  actually  alive 5830 

i Living  in  France 5044 

Abroad  (at  the  end  of  1898) 593 

In  Alsace-Lorraine  (at  the  end  of  1898)  70 

In  Algiers  and  the  French  colonies  ....  123 

II. 

A  Student's  Work. 


Travaux 
gra- 

pjuques. 
Number 
of  hours. 

Projets. 
Travaux 

pratiques. 
Number 
of  hours. 

Classes. 

Examinations. 

Years. 

Number 

of  lessons 

Cii  hours 

each). 

Number 
of  hours. 

Special. 
Number 
of  exami- 
nations. 

General. 
Number 
of  exami- 
nations. 

1st  Year 
2nd  Year 
3rd  Year 

66 

99 

434 
467 

397 
390 
318 

596 
585 

477 

22 

23 
20 

ID 
ID 

7 

Total  for 

3  years 

498 

1,000 

1,105 

1,658 

65 

27 

Before  proceeding  to  consider  the  commercial 
schools  of  university  rank,  a  few  words  may  be 
said  about  an  institution  which  can  hardly  be 
called  a  technical  high  school,  but  which  has 
nevertheless  exercised  a  very  great  influence  on 
the  development  of  trade  and  industry  in  France. 
202 


Conservatoire  des  Arts  et  Metiers. 

The  idea  which  is  embodied  in  the  Conservatoire 
National  des  Arts  et  Metiers  was  originally  put 
forward  by  Descartes  (i 596-1650).  He  proposed 
to  build  in  certain  public  institutions  various  large 
halls  for  artisans,  each  of  which  should  be  devoted 
to  the  different  trades.  "  In  each  of  these  halls 
there,  should  be  collections  of  the  mechanical 
appliances  necessary  or  useful  for  the  arts  to  be 
taught  there.  Sufficient  funds  should  be  provided, 
not  only  for  the  cost  of  experiments,  but  also  for 
supporting  masters  or  professors,  whose  number 
should  be  equal  to  that  of  the  arts  to  be  taught 
These  professors  should  be  proficient  in  mathe- 
matics and  in  physics,  so  as  to  be  able  to  answer 
all  the  questions  put  to  them  by  artisans,  and  to 
explain  the  reason  of  everything,  and  throw  light 
on  the  new  discoveries  to  be  made  in  the  arts." 

Such  a  project  has  now  been  realized.  In 
1775,  Vaucanson  brought  together,  at  his  own 
expense,  a  public  collection  of  machines,  in- 
struments, and  tools  for  the  instruction  of  the 
working-classes.  This  has  now  developed  into 
the  famous  Conservatoire.  In  18 19,  Louis  XVIII. 
decreed  that  there  should  be  established  in  this  insti- 
tution free  public  instruction  in  the  application  of 
the  arts  and  sciences  to  industry.  For  this  purpose 
there  were  to  be  three  courses  of  lectures,  namely, 
lectures  on  Mechanics  and  Chemistry  as  applied 
to  industry,  and  on  Industrial  Economy.  In  1899, 
203 


Conservatoire  National  des 

lectures  were  given  at  the  Conservatoire  on  the 
following  subjects  :  Descriptive  Geometry,  Applied 
Mechanics,  Civil  Engineering,  Applied  Physics, 
Industrial  Electricity,  Industrial  Chemistry,  Metal- 
lurgy, Chemistry  applied  to  the  dyeing,  ceramic 
and  glass  industries,  Agricultural  and  Analy- 
tical Chemistry,  Agriculture,  Industrial  Art, 
Spinning  and  Weaving,  Political  Economy  and 
Industrial  Law,  Industrial  Economy,  Commercial 
Law  and  Social  Economy.  This  list  does  not, 
however,  represent  permanent  courses  of  lectures 
forming  a  complete  curriculum.  Some  of  them, 
it  is  true,  must,  from  their  very  nature,  be 
permanent ;  others  are  created  in  order  to  give 
some  illustrious  savant  an  opportunity  of  making 
known  his  discoveries  to  the  public,  and  are  thus 
a  means  of  bringing  into  touch  with  one  another, 
to  their  mutual  benefit,  the  genius  of  scientific  re- 
search and  the  practical  spirit  of  industry. 

It  also  happens  occasionally  that  the  practical 
needs  of  industry  may  afford  a  reason  for  sup- 
pressing one  course  in  favour  of  another.  For 
instance,  this  happened  in  the  case  of  the  lectures 
on  agricultural  engineering.  The  Council  of 
Improvements,  which  regulate  such  matters  for 
the  Conservatoire,  resolved  that  this  course  should 
be  replaced  by  one  on  industrial  art.  This 
new  course,  which  was  started  in  1889,  has  met 
with  the  greatest  success.  The  needs  of  such 
204 


Arts  et  Metiers. 

a  course  are  explained  by  M.  Liebaut,  of  the 
Conservatoire,  in  a  passage  which  may  well  be 
introduced  here.     He  says — 

"  It  is  on  art  that  modern  industry  depends 
for  increasing  the  worth  and  standard  of  its 
productions.  It  is  on  art  also  that  the  artisan 
depends  for  the  means  of  exercising,  with  taste  as 
well  as  intelligence,  the  craft  by  which  he  earns 
his  living.  There  is  thus  throughout  the  whole 
world  an  imperative  and  irresistible  need  which  is 
immediately  evident  in  connection  with  what  are 
ordinarily  called  *  art  industries.'  It  is  easy  to 
show  that  the  same  need  exists  in  the  case  of  the 
other  trades.  In  the  workshop,  where  machines 
are  constructed,  the  engineer  does  the  planning 
and  calculating  ;  he  creates,  so  to  say,  the  skeleton 
or  frame.  But  he  cannot  succeed  without  the 
collaboration  of  a  draughtsman,  who  has  added 
to  his  natural  gifts  the  manual  skill  necessary  for 
giving  to  this  frame  the  material  covering  which 
is  best  suited  to  each  organ,  and  which  at  the 
same  time  combines  the  greatest  strength  with 
the  greatest  elegance  ;  his  function  it  is  to  provide 
harmony,  both  of  proportion  and  of  the  relative 
position  of  the  different  organs,  as  well  as  grace  of 
outline  and  an  equilibrium,  which  is  not  only  real 
but  also  apparent,  and  therefore  inspires  confidence 
in  spite  of  the  manifestation  of  strength.  In  short, 
such  a  collaborator  must  be  a  man  of  taste  and 
skill ;  in  other  words,  an  artist.  When  we  stand 
before  his  work  we  award  him  praise  in  the  ex- 
pression which  involuntarily  rises  to  our  lips : 
•  what  a  beautiful  machine ! '  Every  work,  in- 
deed, which,  owing  to  the  precision  with  which  the 
ideas  are  carried  out,  owing  to  the  harmony  of  its 

20S 


Conservatoire  des  Arts  et  Metiers. 

proportions,  and  the  suitability  of  structure  and  form 
to  the  quality  of  material,  owing,  in  short,  to  its 
execution,  awakens  in  us  the  ideas  of  perfection, 
is  a  work  of  art. 

"  Such  a  work  is  always  costly  .  .  .  but  it  is 
here  that  industry  steps  in.  By  its  economical 
methods  of  execution,  it  brings  the  work  of  art 
within  reach  of  the  public — not,  indeed,  without 
depriving  it  of  its  most  precious  qualities,  such 
as  originality,  rarity,  perfection  of  execution,  and 
the  stamp  of  the  master-mind.  But  for  all  that, 
art  industry,  that  is  to  say,  the  mdustry  which 
seeks  the  aid  of  art  to  make  all  things  more 
beautiful  and  more  pleasing,  whether  it  be  our 
books,  our  homes,  our  dresses  and  adornments,  or 
our  furniture,  such  industry  must  be  considered  as 
an  important  factor  in  national  life. 

"  In  France  especially  is  it  necessary  to  en- 
courage the  development  of  this  industry  .  ,  .  for 
if  France  cannot  manufacture  as  cheaply  (as  those 
nations  whose  soil  is  richer  in  raw  material),  it 
can  at  least  manufacture  products  possessing  the 
attractions  of  taste." 

In  the  laboratories  of  this  institution  some  of 
the  professors  have,  in  the  presence  and  with  the 
collaboration  of  their  pupils,  made  discoveries  of 
the  highest  value  to  the  world.  The  Conservatoire 
possesses  eight  such  laboratories.  The  specifica- 
tions of  all  the  patents  which  have  expired  are 
kept  in  its  library.  Prior  to  1844  the  number  of 
such  specifications  was  12,489,  but  since  that  date 
the  Conservatoire  has  received  no  less  than  165,000. 
It  has  been  impossible  here  to  do  more  than  give 
206 


Commercial  Education. 

a  few  details  of  the  work  of  this  great  institu- 
tion. A  number  of  prizes  and  medals  are  given 
to  attract  workmen  to  its  evening  classes. 

There  has  in  recent  years  been  a  good  deal  of 
discussion  going  on  in  England  as  to  the  need 
of  commercial    education.       New   causes   in    this 
country,   as    elsewhere,   are    always    very    popular 
among  those  persons  who  have  failed  to  distinguish 
themselves   in   the   ordinary  paths    of  life.     And 
while,  doubtless,  they  do  much  to  draw  the  atten- 
tion of  the  public  to  new  and  pressing  needs,  they 
also  unfortunately  often  drown  the  voices  of  the 
men  who  are  competent  and  willing  to  guide  the 
nation   along   the  safest    path  to  the  satisfaction 
of  these  needs.     Such  has  been  the  case  in  con- 
nection  with    commercial    education.      And    con- 
fusion has  been  rendered  worse  confounded  by  the 
want  of  organization  in  our  educational   system. 
In    the    turbulent    chaos    where    so    many   rival 
interests    are    at     work     any     new     educational 
idea  is  welcome,  as  affording    a   new  weapon  for 
partisan  strife.     The  time,  therefore,  has  not  yet 
come    for    defining    the     sphere    of    commercial 
education  in  England.     Meanwhile,  those  who  are 
in  search  of  the  truth  about  the  matter  cannot  do 
better  than  study  the  definitions  of  this  important 
branch  of  education  which  are  offered  by  foreign 
countries. 

In  the  volumes  dealing  with  French  technical 
207 


Commercial  Education. 

education,  prepared  for  the  Paris  Exhibition  of 
1900  by  the  Ministry  of  Commerce,  such  a  defi- 
nition is  given.  M,  Grelley,  a  distinguished 
authority  on  commercial  education,  to  whom  was 
entrusted  the  preparation  of  that  section  of  these 
volumes  which  deals  with  the  Ecoles  Sperieiires  de 
Commerce,  thus  discusses  the  matter.  He  first  of 
all  complains  that  the  expression  "commercial 
education "  is  in  itself  misleading,  for  it  would 
seem  to  suggest  that  it  was  possible  to  teach 
commerce,  and  that  the  school  could  turn  out 
commercial  men  in  much  the  same  way  as  the 
universities  produce  bachelors  of  art  or  of  science. 
He  disposes  of  such  an  idea  by  pointing  out  that  it 
would  be  absolutely  impossible  to  find  teachers  who 
were  capable  of  undertaking  such  a  task.  He 
takes  as  the  basis  of  his  definition  the  one  adopted 
by  the  Congress  on  Technical  Education  held  in 
Paris  in  1889.  He  thus  arrives  at  the  following 
definition  : — 

"  The  aim  of  technical  education  is  the  study  of 
the  arts  and  sciences,  with  a  view  to  their  appli- 
cation to  commerce."  * 

He  then  states  the  fact  that  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  secondary  commercial  education.  He 
admits  that  there  may  be  primary  commercial 
education  of  the  professionel  type ;   but  the  only 

*  "  L'Enseignement  Commercial  a  pour  objet  I'etude  des  arts  et 
des  sciences,  en  vue  de  leur  application  au  commerce." 

208 


Commercial  High  Schools. 

other  branch  which  he  recognizes  is  that  which  is 
based  on  a  sound  general  secondary  education,  by 
preference  the  full  classical  course.*  In  Germany, 
as  well  as  in  France,  it  is  said  by  many  directors 
of  technical  high  schools,  that  they  find  the  students 
who  have  passed  through  the  classical  secondary 
school  stronger  in  their  mental  development  than 
those  who  have  received  a  "  modern  education." 
We  cannot,  therefore,  conclude  that  this  preference 
is  to  be  explained  merely  by  the  short-comings 
of  French  "  modern  "  secondary  education  referred 
to  on  an  earlier  page. 

The  Ecole  Sicperieiire  de  Connnerce  of  Paris,  the 
oldest  of  these  commercial  high  schools,  owes  its 
establishment  to  private  initiative.  Opened  in  1820, 
with  sixty  students,  it  enjoyed  a  brief  but  remark- 
able success.  It  was  closed  two  years  later,  the 
chief  cause  of  its  failure  being  the  impossibility  of 
finding  properly  qualified  teachers.  It  was,  how- 
ever, restarted  shortly  afterwards  by  its  original 
founder,  and  has  endured,  with  varying  fortune, 
until  the  present  day.  It  originally  bore  the  title  of 
school  of  "commerce  and  industry,"  and,  though  the 
word  industry  was  finally  suppressed,  the  industrial 
element  did  not  disappear  from  its  programme. 
The  French  educationists  have  always  recognized 
the  fact  that  commerce  and  industry  are  inter- 
dependent, and    that   it   is   as   essential    that   the 

*  See  Table  facing  p.  170. 
209 


Commercial  High  School  of  Paris. 

commercial  man  should  be  familiar  with  the  methods 
and  principles  of  industry,  as  that  the  manufacturer 
should  not  be  ignorant  of  the  conditions  deter- 
mining the  success  of  commerce.  Without  tracing 
its  history  under  the  guidance  of  successive  directors 
— no  less  than  four  of  whom  seem  to  have  been 
rewarded  for  their  labours  with  sudden  death — 
we  may  note  one  or  two  important  points  in  the 
course  of  its  development. 

About  1855  the  director,  Gervais  de  Caen,  a 
man  with  remarkable  gifts,  decided  that  it  was 
impossible  to  maintain  proper  discipline  in  the 
school  if  it  received  both  day-boys  and  boarders. 
He  therefore  determined  to  make  the  institution 
a  boarding  establishment  only.  At  this  time  the 
school  was  a  great  financial  success.  It  is  stated 
that  in  the  four  years  between  1848  and  1852  one 
of  the  directors,  who  was  a  shareholder  in  the 
company  which  then  managed  the  institution,  had 
made  enough  money  to  buy  out  the  other  share- 
holders ;  the  capital  of  the  company  at  the  moment 
was  ;^  10,000.  In  1869  the  school  was  purchased 
by  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce,  The  Chamber 
agreed  to  pay  on  the  spot  to  the  family  of  the  last 
director  ;^48oo  for  furniture,  school  material,  etc., 
and  to  lease  the  building  for  thirty  years  at  ;^  1000 
a  year,  with  option  of  purchase  within  five  years 
at  ;^  2 3,000. 

At  this  point  the  school  was  divided  into  three 
210 


Commercial  High  School  of  Paris. 

"counting-houses,"  as  they  were  called.  The  first 
of  these  provided  a  preparatory  course  of  one 
year's  duration.  The  two  succeeding  "  counting- 
houses"  provided  a  course  of  a  year  each,  and 
constituted  the  really  higher  commercial  section 
of  the  institution.  In  1876  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce decided  to  offer  travelling  scholarships  of 
£40  to  those  of  the  students  who  had  written  the 
best  report  on  visits  made,  under  the  guidance  of 
the  director,  to  certain  factories  and  coal-mines 
in  the  North  of  France.  The  holder  of  such  a 
scholarship  spent  the  summer  holidays,  directly 
after  his  third  year  at  the  school,  studying,  in  one 
or  more  countries  of  Europe,  some  commercial 
question  selected  by  the  Chamber, 

In  1890  this  institution  was  formally  recognized 
by  the  State.  The  other  schools  similarly  recog- 
nized, which  were  founded  before  1889,  are  given  in 
the  table  on  p.  212,  which  also  shows  the  number  of 
students  in  the  first  and  second  years  respectively 
in  1897, 

In  the  reorganization  carried  out  after  1890  by  the 
Minister  of  Commerce  the  division  into  "countine-- 
houses  "  was  done  away  with.  It  was  decreed  that 
all  the  commercial  high  schools  should  provide  a 
two  years'  course  of  studies,  but  that  they  should 
also  have  a  preparatory  course  of  one  year ;  so 
that  now  the  divisions  are  known  as  the  preparatory 
year  and  the  first  and  second  normal  years.  In 
'5  211 


Commercial  High  Schools. 

the  Paris  school  the  preparatory  course  consists  of 
two  sections :  one  for  boys  not  less  than  fifteen 
years  old,  and  the  other  for  foreigners  not  familiar 
with  the  French  language  and  French  boys  a  year 
younger  than  those  in  the  former  section.  All  the 
schools  hold  a  competitive  entrance  examination 
for  the  normal  years,  though  the  directors  are 
themselves  allowed  to  admit  a  certain  number  of 

IlCOLES    SuP]£rIEURES   DE   COMMERCE. 
Number  of  Students  at  the  end  of  the  School  Year,  1896-7. 


Name  of  Institution. 

Founded. 

Students  of 
the  ist  Year. 

Students  of 
the  2nd  Year. 

Total. 

]fccole   des   Hautes 
;^tudes  Commer- 
ciales,  Paris    . . . 

ijfecole     Superieure 
de      Commerce, 
Paris   

Institut     Commer- 
cial de  Paris  . . . 

icole     Superieure 
de      Commerce, 
Bordeaux 

ijfecole     Superieure 
de      Commerce, 
Le  Havre    

Ecole      Superieure 
de      Commerce, 

1881 

1S84 

1874 
187I 
1872 
1872 

118 

63 

48 

60 
40 
7S 
67 

128 

43 
31 

55 

43 

82 

57 

246 
106 

79 
"5 

83 

160 

^cole      Superieure 
de      Commerce, 
Marseille 

124 

Note. — Since  1889  similar  schools  have  been  founded  in  Lille, 
Rouen,  Nancy,  and  Montpellier. 

212 


Commercial  High  Schools. 

pupils.  These  last  cannot,  however,  obtain  certifi- 
cates or  diplomas.  Candidates  at  these  examina- 
tions must  be  at  least  sixteen  years  old.  As  is 
generally  the  case  in  France,  the  examination 
consists  of  both  an  oral  and  a  written  part.  The 
following  is  the  list  of  the  subjects  in  which  the 
candidates  are  examined,  showing  the  proportion 
between  the  marks  allotted  to  each.  It  is  easy  to 
calculate  the  actual  marks  which  are  given,  as  those 
which  are  represented  by  i  are  allotted  20  marks. 

Written  Examination. 

Mathematics — 

Arithmetic    3 

Geometry    I 

Algebra  4 

French — 

Composition 3 

Spelling I 

Writing i 

Modern  Language  (the  candidate  is  allowed  a  dictionary) — 

Translation  from    3 

Translation  into I 

Oral  Examination. 

Arithmetic    4 

Modern  Language  (Questions  on   a   passage 

read  and  conversation)   4 

Chemistry 2 

Physics   I 

History I 

As  showing  the  importance  which  foreign  coun- 
tries attach  to  the  quality  of  education,  it  should 

213 


Commercial  High  Schools. 

be  observed  that  as  soon  as  the  Ministry  of 
Commerce  obtained  the  right  to  control  these 
schools,  it  set  about  revising  their  curricula  with 
the  aid  of  experts.  It  must  not  be  imagined,  as 
is  often  asserted  by  those  Englishmen  who  have 
reasons  for  objecting  to  the  State-control  of 
education,  that  the  State  interfered  to  bring  about 
absolute  uniformity  among  all  these  schools  ;  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  but  slight  changes  were  introduced 
into  the  course  of  studies  which  they  had  planned 
independently.  But  at  the  same  time,  since  their 
diplomas  all  carried  the  same  privilege  as  to 
military  service,  it  was  incumbent  on  the  State  to 
see  that  in  each  case  the  diplomas  represented  the 
same  standard  of  acquirements.  Neither  in  France 
nor  in  Germany  does  that  complete  uniformity 
exist  which  is  held  up  to  us  as  one  of  the  inevitable 
consequences  of  the  State  control  of  schools.  If 
either  of  these  countries  ignored  expert  opinion, 
as  we  do  in  England,  and  allowed  its  schools  to 
be  directed  by  government  clerks,  no  doubt  all  its 
schools  would  be  hedged  in  with  restrictions  de- 
structive of  variety  or  freedom  of  development. 
Each  of  them,  however,  holds  its  educational 
experts  in  esteem  and  submits  to  their  influence. 
The  following  is  the  course  of  studies  at  the  Ecole 
Superieure  de  Commerce  in  Paris  : — 


214 


Diplomas. 


Subjects  : 

1 

rt.5 

e 

6 

c3 

•A 
a 

e 
•1 

c 
(3 

c 

e 
0 

0 

to 

c! 
3 
60 
c 
rt 

c 
u 

■§ 
s 

<U 

bO 
r! 

Ul 
C 

a 

■a 
§ 

1 

u 

1 

0 

•a 
Is- 

s.| 
is  S 

1>   c 

6" 
S 
0 
(J 

•a 
c   . 

Ji 
l§ 

3 
u 

0 

s 

'H 

e 
0 

Hours  [  1st  Year 
per    < 
week  (2nd  Year 

4J 

4 

4i 
4 

ij 

5 

5 

3 

3 

3 
3 

2 

2 

2 

-     iJ 
I      1^ 

Subjects : 

2  ^ 

■il 

«^ 

M 
0 

3 
c  tl 
II 

0  1, 

V 

Q 

c 
H 

0 

< 

'S 

c 

c 

0 

.S 

J2 

0 
H 

Hours  |lst  Year 
per    J 
week  1 2nd  Year 

I 

I^ 

2 

I 

2 

I 

36 

35 

There  are  two  grades  of  diplomas  and  one 
certificate,  which  may  be  obtained  by  students 
who  have  been  through  the  whole  course.  The 
final  examination  is  entirely  oral,  as  is  also  the 
examination  which  must  be  passed  in  order  to 
enter  the  second  year  of  studies.  Two  points 
should  be  noticed  in  connection  with  the  examina- 
tions for  the  diploma.  First,  the  director  of  the 
school  and  at  least  one  of  the  professors  are 
215 


The  Examination  Test. 

members  of  the  Examination  Board.  Secondly, 
the  diploma  is  not  awarded  on  the  result  of  the 
final  examination  alone. 

It  has  been  found  in  France,  as  we  are  at 
last  beginning  to  discover  in  England,  that  an 
examination  held  at  a  given  moment,  however 
carefully  it  be  carried  out,  cannot  properly  test 
the  standard  of  acquirements  attained  by  the  can- 
didate. It  is  true  that  in  France,  where  the 
majority  of  schools  are  inspected  by  the  State, 
a  great  deal  may  be  done  to  check  that  growth 
of  a  "  cramming "  system  which  is  the  not  un- 
natural consequence  of  the  examination  test.  But 
it  would  be  surprising,  when  a  boy's  or  girl's  future 
is  made  to  depend  solely  on  the  answers  given 
on  a  fixed  day  to  either  written  or  oral  questions, 
if  parents  were  not  willing  to  give  every  encour- 
agement in  their  power  to  those  enterprising 
persons  who  invent  ways  —  generally  traversing 
every  scientific  law  of  education,  it  is  true — of 
preparing  their  children  for  the  demands  of  that 
fateful  day,  and  that  day  alone.  But  even  sup- 
posing that  cramming  could  be  suppressed,  the 
French  authorities  deem  it  unfair  to  grant  these 
diplomas  on  the  result  of  one  examination  alone. 
Consequently,  in  addition  to  the  marks  which  are 
obtained  at  this  final  examination,  those  which 
have  been  awarded  to  the  student  through- 
out  his    whole    course  of  studies  are  counted  as 

2l6 


The  Examination  Test. 

part  of  the  final  total  deciding  his  right  to  the 
diploma. 

It  is,  however,  evident  that  the  relative  value  of 
marks  obtained  in  the  examinations  at  the  end 
of  the  first  and  second  years  respectively  needs 
careful  calculation.  And  it  is,  from  an  English 
point  of  view,  extraordinary  with  what  care  this 
delicate  problem  is  solved  by  the  French  educa- 
tional experts.  The  system  of  marks  which  they 
have  built  up  is  complicated.  For  instance,  in 
the  final  result  the  marks  obtained  by  the 
candidate  in  book-keeping  at  the  intermediate 
examination  are  multiplied  by  3,  and  those 
obtained  at  the  final  examination  are  multiplied 
by  II.  The  same  precise  grading  of  relative 
values  is  worked  out  for  each  subject.  We  may, 
indeed,  learn  much  from  the  methodical  and 
scientific  manner  in  which  the  French  have 
attempted,  in  this  instance,  to  overcome  the  in- 
evitable evils  of  the  examination  test. 

It  is  certain  that  this  could  not  have  been  done 
unless  they  had  been  willing  to  allow  the  educa- 
tional expert  to  have  a  decided  voice  in  the  matter. 
We,  on  the  other  hand,  mistrust  him,  and  prefer 
that  regulations  as  to  examinations  should  be 
made,  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases,  by  those  who 
have  had  no  experience  in  teaching  the  class 
of  candidates  to  be  examined.  The  foreigner 
must  often  be  astounded  when  he  perceives  how 
217 


The  Examination  Test. 

implicitly  we  trust  to  examinations  as  a  test  of  every 
kind  of  qualification  for  every  possible  situation ; 
for  such  an  instrument  as  the  examination  cannot 
be  used  with  satisfactory  results  by  a  people  who 
have  so  great  a  faith  in  the  rule  of  thumb,  and 
who  regard  with  suspicion  and  resentment  any 
improvements  in  this  instrument  which  would 
deprive  it  of  that  simplicity  that  can  alone  make 
it  intelligible  to  the  "  man  in  the  street."  Were 
the  State  in  England  to  allow  the  expert  to  so 
improve  this  instrument  as  to  render  it  capable 
of  testing  with  scientific  accuracy,  in  other  words, 
were  it  to  attempt  to  build  up  such  a  system  of 
examinations  as  that  just  described,  it  would  have 
to  face  a  storm  of  protest  from  the  people,  who  at 
present  do  no  more  than  grumble  harmlessly  at 
the  evils  of  the  existing  system.  It  might,  there- 
fore, at  a  time  when  we  are  all  deploring  the 
absence  of  the  spirit  of  method  among  the  British 
people,  be  wise  to  ask  ourselves  if  we  are  really 
capable  of  using  the  examination  test,  and  if  it 
does  not,  in  fact,  do  little  more  than  bestow  a 
democratic  sanction  on  the  rule  of  thumb,  which  is 
the  only  scientific  deduction  that  has  been  made 
from  a  long  succession  of  muddles. 

One  of  the  privileges  carried  by  the  diploma  of 

these  commercial  schools  is  the  remission  of  two 

out  of  three  years  of  compulsory  military  service. 

But  the  somewhat  extraordinary  condition  is  made 

218 


French  Regulations. 

that  only  the  first  four-fifths,  in  order  of  merit,  of 
the  successful  candidates  are  granted  this  privilege. 
The  remaining  fifth  obtain  a  second  diploma 
without  the  privilege.  It  is  necessary  to  gain 
65  per  cent,  for  the  higher  diploma.  A  certificate 
is  given  to  candidates  obtaining  not  less  than 
55  per  cent,  of  the  maximum  marks. 

Certain  regulations  have  been  made  as  to 
attendance  at  examinations,  which  show  again 
how  impossible  it  is  to  form  a  fair  appreciation 
of  foreign  education  without  being  thoroughly 
familiar  with  foreign  life.  It  was  discovered  that 
just  before  the  intermediate  examination  some  of 
the  students  absented  themselves  for  a  day  or  two 
in  order  to  "cram  up"  at  the  eleventh  hour.  Others, 
who  did  not  feel  ready  to  undergo  the  written 
examination,  and  still  less  prepared  to  face  the 
oral  test,  arrived  late  on  various  excuses,  and 
requested  to  be  examined  after  their  fellow- 
students.  A  ministerial  decree  was  therefore 
issued,  stating  the  five  excuses  which  would  alone 
be  accepted  for  such  non-appearance.  They  are — 
certified  illness ;  death  of  a  relative  in  the  line  of 
direct  ascent,  or  of  a  brother  or  sister  ;  attendance 
at  the  funeral  of  an  uncle  or  aunt ;  attendance 
at  the  marriage  of  a  brother,  sister,  or  relative  in 
the  line  of  direct  ascent ;  and  appearance  for 
various  reasons  before  the  military  authorities. 
There  are  few  English  authorities  who  would 
219 


Scholarships. 

venture  under  these  circumstances  to  draw  such 
inflexible  lines  of  demarcation  in  the  sphere  of 
the  family  affections. 

In  1896  the  direct  maintenance  grant  of  the 
Government  to  these  schools  amounted  to  no  more 
than  ^^"400  ;  since  then  it  has  ceased  altogether. 
The  Ministry  of  Commerce,  however,  gives  every 
year  six  scholarships  to  those  candidates  whose 
parents  cannot  afford  to  pay  the  whole  or  part 
of  the  school  fees.  The  financial  position  of  the 
parents  of  such  students  must  be  certified  by  the 
mayor  of  the  comnmtie  in  which  they  reside.  A 
competitive  examination  is  held  for  these  scholar- 
ships. Other  scholarships  are  also  awarded  ;  in 
Paris,  for  instance,  seven  are  provided  for  day- 
boarders  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

The  Paris  school  moved  into  its  new  quarters  in 
1898.  The  buildings  which  it  now  occupies  cover 
2500  square  metres,  in  addition  to  a  playground 
which  measures  3000  square  metres.  It  now 
numbers  250  pupils,  including  both  boarders  and 
day-boarders.  The  total  fees  for  boarders,  apart 
from  the  cost  of  books,  etc.,  are  about  £%'j  a  year. 
The  obligatory  fees  for  day-boarders  are  about 
£a,\.  Mr.  M.  E.  Sadler  thus  describes  the  new 
buildings,  which  he  visited  in  1897:  "This  institu- 
tion comprises  a  residential  section  as  well  as  pro- 
vision for  day-students,  and  also  a  junior  or  prepara- 
tory department,  which  is  entirely  separated  from 
220 


Ecole  des  Hautes  Etudes  Commerciales 

the  higher  school  itself.  There  is  a  fine  museum 
of  commercial  products,  an  ample  and  beautiful 
library,  a  laboratory,  two  large  lecture-theatres,  a 
number  of  lecture-rooms,  dining-rooms,  as  well  as 
the  dormitories,  sanatorium,  etc.,  which  belong  to 
the  Hall  of  Residence,  as  we  should  perhaps  call  it 
in  England.  All  this  admirable  provision  is  due  to 
the  liberality  of  the  Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
which  has  distinguished  itself  by  its  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  commercial  education." 

The  Ecole  des  Haiites  Etudes  Commerciales  is  of 
a  slightly  higher  grade  than  the  above-mentioned 
institutions.  Many  people  maintain  that  the 
difference  is  not  sufficient  to  justify  the  two  types 
being  classified  as  distinct  grades.  It  is  important, 
however,  to  notice  that  in  1894  the  Minister  of 
Commerce  decreed  that  there  should  be  established 
in  this  school  a  normal  section  for  the  training  of 
commercial  teachers.  No  candidate  is  admitted  to 
the  competitive  entrance  examination  to  this  sec- 
tion who  is  not  at  least  twenty  years  old.  In 
1899  there  were  383  students  in  this  school,  which 
differs  from  the  Ecoles  Siipirieures'wv  that  it  admits 
day-students. 

Perhaps  no  country  is  so  well  provided  as  France 
with  universities  and  educational  institutions  pro- 
viding scientific  instruction  of  the  highest  order, 
some  of  which  are  supported  by  the  Government 
for  the  education  of  those  who  are  to  be  employed 
221 


Tendencies  of  French  Education. 

in  the  service  of  the  State.  They  fall  outside  the 
scope  of  the  present  work,  in  which  it  is  attempted 
only  to  give  a  brief  sketch  of  what  is  being  done 
for  the  education  of  those  who  are  directly  engaged 
in  carrying  on  trade  and  industry.  It  is,  however, 
true  that  a  number  of  students  from  these  institu- 
tions find  their  way  into  industry  ;  and,  even  if  it 
were  not  so,  the  influence  which  these  schools 
exercise  directly  and  indirectly  over  the  develop- 
ment of  industry  is  of  the  greatest  benefit  to  the 
nation.  Certainly  more  is  done  in  such  French 
institutions  to  encourage  original  research  than  in 
our  universities. 

One  can  open  few  modern  French  books  on  the 
subject  of  education  without  finding  passages  in 
which  great  emphasis  is  laid  on  the  need  of  pro- 
viding checks  on  the  too  common  desire  to  enter 
what  are  termed  the  learned  professions.  This 
negative  function  of  education,  if  it  may  so  be 
called,  has  assumed  almost  greater  importance  in 
the  eyes  of  a  large  number  of  French  educationists 
than  the  normal  function  of  the  promotion  of  the 
best  interests  of  industry  or  commerce.  Judging 
from  the  works  of  contemporary  writers  on  educa- 
tion, one  would  think  that  the  burning  question  in 
France  at  the  present  moment  was  how  the  school 
may  stop  the  rapid  increase  of  divoyes  and  de- 
classes.  According  to  them,  at  any  rate,  general 
education — in  the  sense  of  the  encouragement  of 

222 


Tendencies  of  French    Education. 

natural  development,  mental,  moral,  and  physical — 
has  failed  when  universally  adopted.  Whether  the 
teachers  have  been  at  fault  they  do  not  say.  But 
this  explanation  would  not  certainly  be  admitted 
by  any  foreigner  who  has  had  the  privilege  of 
seeing  the  French  teachers  at  work.  Probably  in 
no  country  in  the  world  has  the  teaching  profes- 
sion attained  to  such  a  high  standard  of  skill 
and  to  such  a  pitch  of  devotion.  For  his  brilliancy 
of  expression,  scientific  delicacy  of  touch — if  the 
term  may  be  used — and  tenderness  of  sympathy, 
the  French  teacher  is  unequalled.  Neither  is  he 
behind  those  of  any  other  land  in  his  love  of 
country  and  his  admiration  of  national  language 
and  literature.  If  any  teachers  could  have  suc- 
ceeded in  carrying  out  all  that  was  best  in  the 
educational  theories  of  Rousseau,  surely  it  was  the 
French.  If  they  have  failed,  it  is  due  to  the  innate 
and  ineradicable  characteristics  of  their  pupils. 
Among  these  characteristics  not  the  least  strongly 
marked  is  social  ambition — the  heritage  of  that 
irresistible  movement  which  was  to  bring  about 
social  equality,  not  on  the  basis  afforded  by  taking 
the  average  between  the  highest  and  the  lowest, 
but  on  the  level  of  the  highest.  It  is  owing  to 
this  that  France  has  found  herself  overrun  with 
d^class^s  and  devoyh. 

The  school,  then,  has  to  catch  those   who  are 
inclined    to   pursue   ambitions   which    they   have 
223 


Tendencies  of  French  Education. 

little  chance  of  satisfying,  and  put  them  on  the 
path  which  leads  to  contentment.  This  was  most 
easily  and  surely  achieved  by  spreading  a  net  of 
technical  education  over  the  primary  schools. 
The  educational  ladder  of  which  we  have  heard 
so  much  in  England  had  to  be  broken  down,  and 
probably  in  no  country  is  there  now  so  little  con- 
nection between  the  higher  and  lower  branches 
of  education.  The  teachers,  it  is  true,  with  to  a 
certain  extent  the  sympathy  of  the  Ministry  of 
Public  Instruction,  have  fought  against  this  move- 
ment. And  it  is  to  be  traced  to  their  influence 
that  the  purely  educational  aim  has  in  any  degree 
been  maintained  in  the  higher  primary  system, 
and  that  scholarships  have  been  provided  at  the 
secondary  schools  for  those  talented  children  of 
poor  parents  who  are  able  to  profit  from  the  instruc- 
tion and  education  which  they  offer.  But  the  pluto- 
cratic influence,  which  has  always  been  thrown  into 
the  scale  against  them,  has  turned  the  balance  in 
favour  of  the  policy  adopted  by  the  Ministry  of 
Commerce.  The  technical  net  is  ever  being 
widened  and  strengthened.  In  its  main  features 
the  system  which  is  growing  up,  and  in  a  great 
measure  already  exists,  may  be  shortly  described 
as  follows.  From  the  primary  school  those  chil- 
dren who  are  not  forced  immediately  to  earn  their 
own  living  proceed  to  the  higher  primary  school, 
with  its  technical  tendencies,  or  to  the  practical 
224 


Tendencies  of  French  Education. 

schools  of  commerce  and  industry,  which  may  be 
regarded  as  purely  technical.  From  thence,  if 
they  continue  their  education  still  further,  they 
pass  into  the  Ecoles  Nationales  d'Arts  et  ]\Ietiers. 

The  strife  between  the  technical  and  the  purely 
educational  idea  is  still  being  waged  around  the 
children  of  the  poorer  classes.  It  may  safely  be 
said  that  this  struggle  will  decide  the  moral  fate, 
and  therefore  the  material  prosperity,  of  France, 
It  is  fortunate  for  us  that  social  conditions  have 
not  yet  appeared  which  give  us  any  cause  for 
spreading  the  net  to  catch  soaring  ambitions. 
Where  it  has  been  done  it  has  not  been  due  to  any 
conscious  design.  A  few  earnest  educationists  in 
our  midst,  with  a  preference  for  France  often  to  be 
traced  to  their  ignorance  of  the  German  language, 
have  visited  the  French  schools,  and  not  fully 
appreciating  the  causes  underlying  their  develop- 
ment, have  returned  to  England  to  persuade  eager 
authorities  to  adopt  the  French  line  of  progress. 
But  the  results  that  have  followed  cannot  last ;  for 
they  lack  that  vital  force  which  can  alone  be  sup- 
plied by  national  needs  or  irresistible  national 
tendencies. 

Before  concluding  that  the  French  system  is  the 
natural  outcome  of  democracy,  it  is  wise  to  give  a 
thought  to  what  is  being  done  in  the  schools  of 
that  other  great  exponent  of  democracy  which  is 
more  nearly  akin  to  ourselves. 

225 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   FOUNDATIONS   LAID   IN   AMERICA. 

The  great  American  Republic  contains  a  popula- 
tion half  as  large  again  as  that  of  the  British  Isles 
spread  over  an  area  nearly  twenty-five  times  as 
great.  The  different  conditions  of  political  and 
social  organization  which  such  a  comparison 
suggests  must  be  borne  in  mind  throughout  a 
study  of  the  American  system  of  education.  One 
other  point  must  not  be  overlooked.  The  tie  of 
kinship  between  the  United  States  and  England 
is  undoubtedly  strong ;  it  is  true  that  there  are 
common  traits  of  character  to  be  found  in  both 
peoples  which  must  ever  influence  them,  even  if 
with  decreasing  force,  to  develop  along  parallel 
lines.  But  we  are  perhaps  inclined  in  England  to 
overrate  the  influence  of  our  parentage  on  this 
great  nation,  just  as  we  are  inclined  to  exaggerate 
its  influence  on  the  younger  colonies  which  we 
have  planted.  Speaking  generally,  it  cannot  be 
said  that  traces  of  our  influence  predominate  in 
the  actual  development  of  American  education. 
The  Americans  have,  of  course,  a  certain  natural 
226 


American  Variety. 

power  of  appreciating  what  is  best  in  the  educa- 
tional results  which  we  have  achieved.  But  when 
we  have  said  that  they  have  profited  from  our 
experiences,  from  our  successes  and  our  failures, 
we  have  probably  stated  the  extent  of  their  in- 
debtedness to  us.  As  far  as  their  actual  system 
is  concerned,  they  probably  owe  more  to  other 
nations  than  to  the  English. 

There  is  no  national  system  of  education  in  the 
United  States  of  America  of  the  kind  which  exists 
in  Germany  and  in  France  ;  that  is  to  say,  a 
system  controlled  and  organized  by  the  national 
Government.  The  history  of  the  making  of  the 
United  States  would  lead  us,  indeed,  to  expect 
to  find  the  greatest  possible  variety  of  educa- 
tional organization.  Even  the  early  English 
colonists  represented  a  number  of  different  social, 
political,  and  religious  views,  all  of  which  mani- 
fested themselves  in  the  systems  of  schools  which 
they  founded.  Some  brought  with  them  the 
English  social  prejudices  of  the  time  against  the 
education  of  the  lower  orders — prejudices  which 
in  the  mother  land,  however,  did  not  prevent  the 
man  of  talent  from  obtaining  his  rightful  place  in 
the  aristocracy  of  intellect.  We  accordingly  find 
some  of  the  early  colonists  refusing  to  establish 
public  schools.  Berkeley,  the  Governor  of  Virginia, 
stated  the  policy  of  his  colony  in  this  matter  in  no 
uncertain  or  wavering  terms. 
i6  227 


American  Variety. 

"  I  thank  God,"  he  said,  "  that  there  be  no  free 
schools  nor  printing-presses,  and  I  hope  we  shall 
not  have  them  these  hundred  years  ;  for  learning 
has  brought  disobedience  and  heresy  and  sects 
into  the  world,  and  printing  has  divulged  them 
and  libels  against  the  best  of  Governments  :  God 
keep  us  from  both." 

On  the  other  hand,  the  general  court  of  Massa- 
chusetts passed  a  school  law  in  1647  providing 
that  every  township  "  of  the  number  of  fifty  house- 
holds shall  appoint  one  within  their  town  to  teach 
all  such  children  as  shall  resort  to  him  to  write 
and  read,  whose  wages  shall  be  paid  either  by  the 
parents  or  masters  of  such  children,  or  by  the 
inhabitants  in  general."  This  law  further  ordained 
that  any  town  of  one  hundred  householders  "  shall 
set  up  a  grammar  school,  the  master  thereof  being 
able  to  instruct  youths  so  far  as  they  may  be  fitted 
for  the  University."  The  Dutch  colonists  also 
seem  to  have  fully  appreciated  the  value  of  public 
education,  though  at  the  same  time  they  adopted 
the  undemocratic  political  organization  of  their 
mother-country.  From  these  examples  it  will  be 
seen  that  at  the  very  outset  the  roots  of  variety 
were  planted  in  America.  But  when  once  a 
people  is  possessed  by  a  common  national  purpose 
certain  limits  will  inevitably  be  placed  on  diversity 
within  its  system  of  education.  The  common 
national  purpose  appeared  in  America  towards  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
228 


Growth  of  a  National  Purpose. 

Whatever  were  the  causes  of  the  Revolution  of 
1776 — and  they  are  still  involved  in  a  certain 
degree  of  mystery,  which  the  historian  may  some 
day  clear  away — it  was  popularly  hailed  in  America 
as  the  enfranchisement  of  the  individual,  and  as 
the  throwing  off  of  oppressive  restrictions  to 
economic,  social,  and  religious  liberty.  But  the 
young  nation  did  not  at  the  outset  realize  how  the 
democracy  which  it  was  building  up  must  depend 
on  education  for  its  proper  conduct  and  success. 
It  was  not  until  some  forty  years  later  that  Daniel 
Webster  pointed  out,  in  the  words  quoted  on  an 
earlier  page,*  how  education  could  alone  fit  a  people 
to  rule  itself,  and  arm  it  with  the  power  to  resist 
that  license  and  corruption  which  are  no  less 
dangerous  when  fed  by  liberty  than  when  counte- 
nanced by  and  employed  in  the  service  of 
tyranny.  But  from  this  time  onward  we  find  a 
common  national  purpose  pervading  all  public 
education  in  the  United  States. 

It  is  not  a  national  purpose  of  the  nature  of 
that  which  we  see  dominating  all  others  in  Ger- 
many ;  it  is  not  directed  towards  the  over- 
coming of  foreign  rivalry,  for  America  has  not 
in  the  past  been  obliged,  like  Germany,  to  fight 
for  her  existence  against  foreign  competition  ; 
it  is  rather  manifested  in  a  strong  determina- 
tion   to    make    a   success   of  democracy,   and    to 

*  See  pp.  12  and  13. 
229 


Democracy  and  Education. 

enable  the  people  to  realize  through  self-govern- 
ment the  highest  possible  form  of  national  de- 
velopment. We  can,  therefore,  trace  in  the 
educational  progress  of  the  past,  no  less  than 
in  that  of  the  present,  a  determination  to  under- 
mine the  forces  of  corruption  which  spring  up 
like  tares  in  the  democratic  field.  No  greater 
testimony  has  indeed  been  borne  to  the  power  of 
education  than  by  the  bitter  strife  which  has  been 
waged  for  its  control  between  those  endowed 
with  a  high  moral  ideal  on  the  one  hand,  and 
those  who  wish  to  convert  democratic  liberty  into 
license  for  selfish  ends  on  the  other.  It  can  only 
be  compared  with  the  struggle  between  the  State 
and  the  Catholic  Church,  which  we  see  at  present 
going  on  around  the  schools  of  France. 

American  education  has  at  one  and  the  same 
time  benefited  and  suffered  from  the  democratic 
principle  of  self-government.  For,  if  this  principle 
is  to  be  adhered  to  consistently,  the  people  must 
be  allowed  to  exercise  free  control  over  education, 
as  much  as  over  any  other  branch  of  public  life 
which  calls  for  collective  action.  When,  therefore, 
public  authorities  have  been  appointed  to  provide, 
maintain,  or  supervise  the  schools,  they  have  neces- 
sarily been  of  a  popular  character.  America  con- 
sequently ofifers  an  excellent  example  of  the  attempt 
of  a  people  to  educate  itself. 

It  may  be  immediately  asked  whether  self- 
230 


Democracy  and  Education. 

education  can  prove  a  success  in  the  case  of 
nations  any  more  than  of  individuals.  It  has 
been  maintained  throughout  these  pages  that 
the  work  of  education  consists  in  guiding  the 
individual  towards  a  definite  end  in  accordance 
with  natural  laws.  Such  education  must  be 
carried  on  by  those  on  whom  the  individual 
depends  during  the  period  of  his  infancy.  Con- 
sequently there  are  two  parties  to  be  considered. 
The  one  is  in  a  position  of  dependence  ;  the  other 
wields  a  supreme  power,  which,  however,  he  can 
only  exercise  within  the  limits  imposed  by  the 
natural  laws  of  human  development.  If  we  con- 
sider the  question  in  its  collective  aspects,  as  it 
affects  the  community,  we  must  inquire  in  whom 
is  this  supreme  power  to  be  vested  ?  Logically, 
and  without  taking  any  political  considerations 
into  account,  the  answer  will  be  :  in  the  educators 
in  their  collective  capacity.  In  an  ideal  State  this 
indeed  would  be  possible.  Germany  has  more 
closely  approximated  to  this  ideal  than  any  other 
nation.  But  in  a  democracy  liberty  is  recognized 
not  only  as  a  negative  freedom  from  all  oppression, 
but  as  a  positive  freedom,  allowed  to  each  member 
of  the  community,  of  making  his  will  felt  as  a  force 
in  the  final  resultant  which  decides  the  national 
destinies.  This  is  allowed  to  him  because  demo- 
cracy is  based  on  the  assumption  that  such  a  final 
resultant  is  the  most  absolutely  right,  and  that  the 
231 


Democracy  and  Education. 

wills  of  individuals,  directed  by  the  knowledge 
they  enjoy,  must,  in  combination,  form  an  average 
will  which  is  infallible.  Democracy  is  therefore 
obliged  to  admit  the  sanctity  of  individual  know- 
ledge, and  is  in  its  very  essence  opposed  to  the 
controlling  influence  of  the  expert. 

But  since  it  is  impracticable  that  government 
should  be  carried  on  by  the  many,  democracy  is 
forced  to  strike  a  compromise  between  expediency 
and  the  fundamental  principle  on  which  it  rests. 
By  this  compromise  the  work  of  government  is 
entrusted  to  a  few  individuals ;  not  necessarily 
those  who  have  risen  by  their  superior  ability  to  a 
position  of  supreme  power,  but  those  who  are 
most  likely  to  represent  the  average  will.  And  if 
representation  of  the  average  will  is  the  first  con- 
sideration, it  is  evident  that  the  control  of  no 
branch  of  national  life  will,  unless  by  a  mere 
coincidence,  be  vested  in  experts  who  have  proved 
themselves  to  possess  the  greatest  knowledge  of 
that  branch  and  to  be  the  most  competent  tS 
control  it.  Under  such  a  form  of  government, 
consistently  carried  out,  the  infants  of  the  nation 
will  depend  for  their  guidance  on  the  average 
will  of  the  adults.  But  the  delicate  machinery 
which  can  alone  ensure  such  consistency  has 
never  yet  been  set  up,  or,  if  it  has,  it  has  imme- 
diately broken  down  under  the  strain  of  human 
passions.  In  practice  the  average  will  has 
232 


Democracy  and  Education. 

invariably  been  converted  into  the  will  of  the 
majority. 

America  has  been  no  exception  to  this  rule,  and 
probably  in  no  country  has  the  veil  been  so  ruth- 
lessly torn  aside  from  the  workings  of  human 
passion.  In  other  countries,  no  doubt,  government, 
of  whatever  form  it  has  been,  has  from  time  to 
time  been  captured  by  those  who  place  selfish 
interests  before  the  common  welfare ;  but  in  no 
country  has  this  been  more  terribly  exposed  to  the 
view  of  all  mankind.  And  thus  it  has  been  seen 
by  all  observers  that  the  public  authorities,  which 
have  controlled  education,  have  often  represented 
not  the  average  will,  but  the  feebleness  of  the 
weak  and  the  selfishness  of  the  evil  combined  to 
form  a  majority.  The  former  have  been  unable  to 
appreciate  their  responsibility  with  regard  to  that 
branch  of  national  life  which  is,  in  a  sense,  the 
source  of  all  others  ;  they  have  been  ignorant  of 
the  very  principles  on  which  the  proper  conduct  of 
education  is  based.  The  latter  have  known  too 
well  how  education  can  be  used  to  mould  the 
rising  generation  to  their  own  ends,  and  they  have 
acted  with  a  skill  which  is  never  wanting  to  the 
strength  of  evil. 

It  is    not  intended    for  a    moment   to   suggest 

that  in   all  the   State  authorities  and  in    all  the 

city  school    boards     of  America    weakness     and 

corruption  have  been  permitted  to  prevail.     That 

233 


Democracy  and  Education. 

they  have  sometimes  had  the  upper  hand  cannot 
be  denied  ;  and  that  it  has  been  so  is,  to  a  very 
great  extent,  the  reason  for  the  changes  witnessed 
in  the  organization  of  public  control,  changes  which 
have  always  followed  a  progressive  line  towards 
stronger  and  better  and  purer  administration. 
Those  who  know  America  best,  whether  prejudiced 
in  favour  of,  or  without  sympathy  with,  democratic 
forms  of  government,  seem  to  be  convinced  that 
she  is  advancing  steadily  towards  the  realization 
of  a  noble  ideal,  and  the  consummation  of  a  union 
between  native  strength  and  moral  and  aesthetic 
culture  productive  of  the  greatest  benefits  to  the 
human  race. 

America  has  seen  that  her  future  depends  on 
her  education,  which  can  alone  help  her  to  coun- 
teract these  evil  influences.  She  has  perceived 
it,  from  different  causes  it  is  true,  no  less  clearly 
than  Germany.  As  education  is  the  source 
of  all  other  branches  of  national  life,  so  the 
teachers  are,  in  a  sense,  the  source  of  education. 
It  has  been  the  fortune  of  America  to  perceive 
this  fact  also;  and  she  has  had  the  wisdom  to 
give  more  and  more  power  to  her  teachers.  They 
have  responded  nobly  to  the  trust  which  their 
country  has  placed  in  them,  and  have  joined  issue 
with  the  forces  of  corruption,  gradually  driving 
them  back  from  the  positions  in  which  they  had 
entrenched  themselves.  In  short,  it  may  be  said 
234 


Quality  and  Quantity. 

that  the  history  of  the  recent  development  of  the 
American  educational  system  is  concerned  mainly 
with  the  struggle  for  the  control  of  the  schools, 
between  the  teachers  and  the  experts  on  the  one 
side,  and  the  popularly  elected  representatives  of 
the  people  on  the  other. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  the  countries  which 
have  achieved  the  greatest  results  in  the  promo- 
tion of  trade  and  industry  through  education  are 
those  which  have  attached  greater  importance  to 
the  quality  than  to  the  quantity  of  their  education  ; 
those  which  have  not  only  recognized  the  fact 
that  education  must  take  account  of  the  other 
elements  besides  trade  and  industry  in  national 
prosperity,  but  which  have,  at  the  same  time, 
perceived  that  the  qualities  which  make  the  good 
citizen  are  precisely  those  which  also  make  the 
successful  tradesman  or  manufacturer.  It  would 
therefore  appear  that,  in  this  connection,  nothing 
is  to  be  gained  by  regarding  the  practical  demands 
of  industry  and  commerce  apart  from  their  natural 
relation  to  all  the  factors  in  national  welfare  ;  and 
that,  not  only  in  the  section  of  education  which 
is  concerned  with  general  development,  but  in 
those  other  branches  which  are  devoted  to  special 
training,  the  general  educational  aim  must  not  be 
ignored. 

There  is,  consequently,  a  twofold  reason  for 
entrusting  the  control  of  the  schools  to  authorities 
235 


Organization  of  Public  Control. 

presiding  over  wide  areas.  In  the  first  place, 
there  is  the  reason  suggested  by  economy  of 
effort.  If  a  common  purpose  must  underly 
all  national  education,  it  is  a  waste  of  power 
for  a  number  of  small  bodies  to  undertake  a 
task  which  can  be  performed  at  least  as  well 
by  one  body  controlling  a  wide  area.  In  the 
second  place,  the  necessity  of  developing  and 
encouraging  the  perception  of  the  national  pur- 
pose, of  maintaining  the  supremacy  of  national 
interests,  tells  against  the  existence  of  authorities 
in  which  narrow  local  aims  must  necessarily 
overshadow  all  else.  We  consequently  find  in 
America  a  tendency  to  centralization  in  educa- 
tional control  concurrent  with  the  tendency  to 
give  greater  power  to  the  expert. 

At  a  time  when  the  organization  of  educational 
control  is  rightly  occupying  so  much  attention  in 
England,  and  when  this  organization  is  being 
carried  out  with  every  possible  concession  to 
democratic  principles,  it  is  useful  to  observe  what 
is  being  done  in  this  matter  by  the  great  demo- 
cratic Government  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlan- 
tic. More  particularly,  we  should  consider  how 
far  the  public  control  which  America  has  organ- 
ized for  her  schools  has  enabled  her  to  establish 
firmly  the  educational  foundations  of  her  trade 
and  industry.  For  with  us  the  great  incentive 
to  the  creation  of  new  kinds  of  public  control  is 
236 


Organization  of  Public  Control. 

the  need  for  providing  better  technical  and,  per- 
haps, also  secondary  education  ;  or,  to  put  it  in 
other  words,  the  real  stimulus  to  educational 
activity  is  the  desire,  silent  or  expressed,  to  in- 
crease, or  at  least  to  ensure,  our  material  pros- 
perity. 

The  most  democratic  form  of  educational  gov- 
ernment is  to  be  found  in  the  American  "  school 
district."  In  the  old  days  of  a  scattered  population, 
families  used  to  combine  to  maintain  a  school 
which  would  provide  education  for  their  children. 
The  extent  of  the  school  district  was,  therefore,  no 
larger  than  would  permit  of  all  the  children  attend- 
ing the  same  school.  Districts  have  indeed  had 
legal  existence  which  were  composed  of  but  one 
family.  The  government  of  the  district  is  vested 
in  all  the  voters,  who  meet  at  least  once  a  year, 
and  had  originally  full  and  complete  control  of 
the  school  system.  The  tendency  during  the  first 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century  was  to  make  this 
thoroughly  democratic  system  more  perfect  ;  that 
of  the  latter  half  was  towards  greater  centralization 
and  uniformity.  In  a  number  of  States  the  town- 
ship system  has  altogether  supplanted  the  district 
organization. 

It  is  impossible  to  lay  down  any  general  rule  as 

to  the  organization  of  educational  government  in 

the  United  States,  for  almost  every  possible  variety 

is  to  be  found.     All  that  can  be  done  is  to  point  to 

237 


Tendency  towards  Centralization. 

general  tendencies  which  are  to  be  observed,  and 
to  the  evident  approximation  towards  one  type 
which  stands  out  more  and  more  as  the  ideal  which 
the  whole  country  is  striving,  in  spite  of  many 
obstacles,  to  attain.  In  the  township  system,  for 
instance,  we  find  different  ways  of  electing  the 
body  in  which  the  control  of  the  schools  is  vested. 
In  some  it  is  chosen  at  annual  town  meetings  ;  in 
others  central  boards  are  appointed,  the  members 
being  chosen  by  the  electors  of  the  sub-districts. 
But  it  is  to  the  cities  and  the  States  that  we  must 
look  to  see  the  growth  of  the  system  which  may 
gradually  absorb  all  others.  Here  we  may  per- 
ceive a  tendency  towards  centralization  of  control 
and  a  gradual  approximation  to  one  ideal  type 
of  organization. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  consider  the  increase 
and  concentration  of  the  population  of  the  United 
States.  It  must,  however,  be  noticed,  as  explain- 
ing many  of  the  changes  which  have  taken  place  in 
the  control  of  education  during  the  latter  half  of 
the  last  century,  that,  while  in  1790  there  was  but 
one  American  city  having  between  8000  and  12,000 
inhabitants,  in  1890  there  were  147  cities  of  this 
size.  In  1890  there  were  also  fourteen  cities  with 
a  population  of  from  75,000  to  125,000;  and  now 
there  are  at  least  twelve  cities  with  a  population  of 
over  500,000.  Conditions  such  as  are  suggested  by 
these  facts  make  impracticable  those  primitive 
238 


Tendency  towards  Centralization. 

forms  of  government  described  above.  The  States 
have,  therefore,  interfered  and  made  new  laws  to 
meet  these  conditions. 

But  when  it  is  said  that  the  States  have 
interfered,  it  must  be  added  that  in  the  majority 
of  cases  it  is  the  cities  themselves  which  have 
taken  the  initiative  and  have  drawn  up  laws 
which  the  State  has  done  no  more  than  sanc- 
tion— a  mode  of  procedure  which  will  recom- 
mend itself  to  the  English  advocates  of  local 
self-government.  An  advantage  or  disadvantage 
of  this  procedure  is  that,  as  a  result,  there  is  no 
one  system  of  educational  government  common  to 
all  American  cities.  For  instance,  though  the 
management  of  the  schools  is  almost  invariably 
vested  in  a  city  board,  this  board  is  constituted  in 
apparently  as  many  different  ways  as  there  are 
cities.  In  the  majority  of  cases  the  boards  are  ad 
hoc  authorities  elected  by  the  people  ;  but  in  many 
instances  they  are  appointed  by  the  mayor  alone 
or  by  the  mayor  and  city  council  jointly.  In 
Philadelphia  the  board  is  appointed  by  the  city 
judges,  and  in  New  Orleans  by  the  State  board  of 
education.  Buffalo  forms  a  unique  exception.  In 
the  monographs  prepared  for  the  American  educa- 
tional exhibit  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1900  this 
organization  is  thus  described  : — 

"In  the  city  of  Buffalo,  New  York  State, 
the  school  affairs  are  managed   by  a   committee 

239 


Dangers  of  Democratic  Control. 

appointed  by  the  city  council,  but  happily  this  case 
stands  by  itself,  and  the  evil  consequences  possible 
under  such  a  scheme  have  been  much  ameliorated 
in  this  particular  case  for  the  last  half-dozen  years 
by  a  most  excellent  superintendent  of  schools, 
elected  by  the  people  of  that  city." 

This  special  organization  being  of  particular 
interest  to  English  people  at  the  present  moment, 
it  will  be  well  to  give  some  details  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  office  filled  by  the  superintendent  of  schools.* 
But  before  doing  so  a  few  words  may  be  said  in 
explanation  of  the  evil  consequences  referred  to  in 
the  above  passage.  The  same  authority  remarks 
in  connection  with  the  way  school  affairs  have  been 
managed  in  the  larger  cities  : — 

"  In  the  smaller  places — even  in  cities  of  a 
hundred  thousand  or  more  inhabitants — matters 
have  gone  well  enough  as  a  general  rule,  but  in 
the  greater  cities  there  have  been  many  and  serious 
complaints  of  the  misuse  of  funds,  of  neglect  of 
property,  of  the  appointment  of  unfit  teachers,  and 
of  general  incapacity,  or  worse,  on  the  part  of  the 
boards.  Of  course,  it  is  notorious  that  the  public 
business  of  American  cities  has  very  commonly 
been  badly  managed.  It  would  not  be  true  to 
say  that  the  business  of  the  schools  has  suffered 
as  seriously  as  municipal  business,  but  it  has  cer- 
tainly been  managed  badly  enough.  .  .  .  Men 
engaged  in  managing  the  organizations  of  the 
different  political  parties  have  undertaken  to  con- 
trol appointments  in  the  interests  of  their  party 
machines.      And  the  downright  scoundrels    have 

*  See  p.  247. 
240 


Autonomy  of  American  States. 

infested  the  school  organization  in  some  places  for 
the  sake  of  plunder." 

One  is  prepared,  after  reading  such  an  indict- 
ment, to  learn  that  the  powers  of  these  city  boards 
are  very  great.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  every  possible 
function  of  control  seems  to  be  bestowed  on  them, 
from  the  appointment  and  promotion  of  teachers 
to  the  purchasing  and  selecting  of  new  sites  for 
schools.  In  only  a  very  few  cases,  however,  are 
they  allowed  to  decide  the  amount  of  money  which 
shall  be  raised  for  educational  purposes. 

There  is  still  one  other  feature  which  must  be 
dealt  with  before  turning  our  attention  to  the 
superintendents  of  schools.  The  public  school 
system  of  America  is  now  supported  entirely  by 
taxation.  It  therefore  depends  upon  the  exercise 
of  a  sovereign  power.  All  sovereign  powers 
have  not  been  entrusted  to  the  national  Govern- 
ment ;  some  of  them  are  retained  by  the  States. 
The  provision  and  supervision  of  schools,  for 
instance,  is  a  function  of  the  State  and  not  of  the 
national  Government.  The  vast  extent  of  the 
territory  under  the  national  Government  offers  in 
itself  an  explanation  for  the  autonomy  of  the 
States  in  educational  matters.  It  is  impossible, 
therefore,  to  draw  any  analogy  in  this  respect 
between  the  English  and  the  American  systems, 
unless  we  compare  the  whole  of  England  with  one 
single  State. 

241 


Attitude  of  National  Government. 

When,  therefore,  we  speak  of  the  centralizing 
tendencies  of  American  education,  the  term  is  used 
with  reference  to  the  State,  and  not  to  the  general 
or  national  Government.  Indeed,  the  general 
Government  exercises  no  authoritative  control  over 
the  educational  institutions  of  the  nation.*  Start- 
ing on  a  purely  democratic  basis,  it  held  that  its 
right  was  limited  to  the  encouragement  of  volun- 
tary or  local  effort.  How  far  control  may  be 
ultimately  centred  in  the  national  Government 
nobody  can  foresee.  Many  persons  may  think 
that  the  gradual  approximation  on  the  part  of  the 
States  to  a  common  system  tends  in  that  direction. 

The  national  Government  has,  it  is  true,  made 
grants  of  land  to  the  different  States  for  educa- 
tional uses.  Two  occasions  on  which  these  grants 
were  made  deserve  notice.  In  the  "  Ordinance  of 
1787  for  the  Government  of  the  North-West  Ter- 
ritory," it  was  provided  that :  One  section  of  land 
in  each  township  should  be  reserved  for  the  sup- 
port of  religion,  one  section  for  common  schools, 
and  two  townships  for  the  support  of  a  "  literary 
institution  to  be  applied  to  the  intended  object 
by  the  legislature  of  the  State."  Accompanying 
this  provision  was  a  declaration  that  "religion, 
morality,  and  knowledge  being  necessary  to  good 

*  The  relation  of  the  National  Bureau  of  Education  (see  p.  243) 
to  the  educational  system  of  Alaska  may  perhaps  be  considered  to 
otfer  an  exception  to  this  statement. 

242 


United  States  Bureau  of  Education. 

government  and  the  happiness  of  mankind,  schools 
and  the  means  of  education  shall  for  ever  be  en- 
couraged." In  1862  an  Act  was  passed  giving  to 
each  State  thirty  thousand  acres  of  land  for  each 
senator  and  representative  to  which  the  State  was 
then  entitled,  for  the  purpose  of  founding  "  at  least 
one  college,  where  the  leading  object  shall  be, 
without  excluding  other  scientific  and  practical 
studies,  and  including  military  tactics,  to  teach 
such  branches  of  learning  as  are  related  to  agri- 
culture and  the  mechanic  arts,  in  such  manner  as 
the  legislature  of  the  States  shall  respectively 
prescribe,  in  order  to  promote  the  liberal  education 
of  the  industrial  classes  in  the  several  pursuits  and 
professions  of  life''  Certain  of  the  above  words 
are  printed  in  italics  as  referring  particularly  to 
the  special  object  of  our  study  ;  they  will  again 
occupy  our  attention  on  a  later  page. 

But  the  national  Government  has  adopted  yet 
another  and  no  less  effective  means  of  assistmg 
educational  progress  throughout  the  land.  The 
United  States  Bureau  of  Education  corresponds 
in  many  respects  to  the  Special  Inquiries  Branch 
of  our  Board  of  Education.  It  collects  facts  as 
to  educational  movements  in  all  parts  of  the  world, 
and  "  furnishes  the  fullest  information  upon  every 
conceivable  phase  of  educational  activity  to  whom- 
soever would  accept  it."  It  thus  acts  not  as  a 
controlling  authority,  but,  in  a  sense,  as  the  brain 
17  243 


Advantages  of  Wide  Area  of  Control. 

of  the  collective  teaching  body  of  the  United 
States.  It  is  needless  to  insist  further  on  the 
influence  which  the  Bureau  can,  and  does,  under 
its  present  admirable  direction,  exercise  over 
educational  development. 

Each  State  is,  however,  a  central  authority,  in 
the  English  acceptation  of  the  term,  to  itself ;  and 
it  is  owing  to  the  increasing  similarity  between  the 
nature  of  the  control  employed  by  different  States 
that  something  approaching  a  common  system  of 
schools  has  arisen  in  America.  Cities,  townships, 
and  all  subordinate  political  divisions  have  been 
compelled  to  submit  to  whatever  authority  the 
State  sees  fit  to  assert ;  for  they  are  powerless  to 
levy  taxes  for  school  purposes  unless  authorized 
so  to  do  by  the  State.  Moreover,  generally  speak- 
ing, they  have  not  been  slow  to  perceive  the  benefit 
of  a  central  authority  controlling  a  wide  area. 
In  many  cases,  for  example,  the  State  is  able  to 
distribute  the  sums  raised  by  a  general  levy  in 
such  a  way  as  to  aid  poor  districts  which  other- 
wise would  be  without  the  money  necessary  for 
the  support  of  their  schools.  In  this  connection 
the  State  of  New  York  may  be  noticed,  where  the 
cities  provide  more  than  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars  yearly  for  the  support  of  schools  in  the 
country  districts. 

But  the  benefit  of  an  authority  presiding  over 
a  wide  area  is  no  less  evident  in  connection  with 
244 


Common  Features  of  Different  Systems. 

the  provision  of  higher  educational  institutions, 
which  could  not  be  supported  without  intolerable 
extravagance  by  smaller  sections  of  the  country. 
Such  institutions  are  the  Normal  Schools,  prepar- 
ing teachers  for  elementary  and  secondary  schools, 
maintained  by  nearly  all  the  States  ;  and  the  great 
State  Universities  to  be  found  in  all  the  southern 
and  western  States.  "  In  ten  universities  of  the 
North-Central  division  of  States,"  says  the  authority 
already  quoted,  "  there  are  twenty  thousand 
students  in  college  and  professional  classes, 
and  the  work  is  of  as  high  grade  and  of  as 
broad  range  as  in  the  oldest  universities  in  the 
country." 

The  degree  and  extent  of  the  control  exercised 
by  each  State  has  been  determined  by  the  measure 
in  which  the  people  have  appreciated  these  benefits, 
and  also  by  the  mere  material  consideration  of  the 
financial  needs  of  the  minor  political  divisions.  If 
one  attempts  to  generalize,  all  that  can  be  said  is 
that  each  State  now  includes  provisions  in  its  consti- 
tution relating  to  education  ;  and  that  in  all  of  them 
there  is  some  sort  of  public  educational  organiza- 
tion established  by  law.  At  the  same  time  there 
seems  to  be  little  doubt  that  there  is  a  general 
tendency  towards  centralization  within  the  State 
limits.  Indeed,  the  State  of  New  York  may  be 
said  to  have  achieved  a  central  organization  second 
to  none  in  the  world,  and  which  may  ultimately 
245 


The  State  of  New  York — 

prove  the  model  for  all  other  States.  It  therefore 
demands  a  brief  explanation. 

In  the  first  place,  there  is  a  State  board  of 
regents  responsible  for  the  private  academies  (see 
p.  256),  controlling  partially  the  public  secondary 
schools,  and  in  charge  of  all  the  higher  educational 
institutions.  In  addition  to  this  authority  there  is 
the  State  superintendent  of  public  instruction, 
whose  office  we  may  now  consider. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  evils 
which  must  arise  in  any  system  of  schools  sub- 
mitted to  a  purely  democratic  form  of  government 
An  allusion  has  also  been  made  to  the  natural 
objection  of  a  people  who  have  built  up  a  demo- 
cracy to  the  influence  of  the  expert.  But,  from 
the  very  beginning,  the  better  sense  of  the  Ameri- 
can people  seems  to  have  saved  them  from  this 
consistent  adherence  to  the  weakness,  as  well  as  to 
the  strength  of  democracy.  As  far  back  as  the 
beginning  of  last  century,  the  laws  insisted 
that  some  test  should  be  applied  to  the  qualifica- 
tions of  persons  wishing  to  teach.  Such  a  test 
implies  a  recognition  of  the  expert.  Early  in  the 
century,  superintendents  were  appointed  to  per- 
form this  and  other  functions  demanding  expert 
knowledge.  New  York  appointed  a  State  superin- 
tendent in  1812,  and  by  the  middle  of  the  century 
most  of  the  other  States,  as  well  as  the  towns, 
cities,  and,  in  the  Southern  States,  the  counties, 
246 


and  its  Superintendent  of  Schools. 

had  followed  suit.  While  in  the  old  days  all  that 
was  demanded  of  the  superintendent  was  that  he 
should  examine  candidates  for  the  teaching  pro- 
fession, collect  statistics,  and  address  meetings  on 
educational  subjects,  now  he  is  held  responsible  for 
the  quality  of  the  education  provided  by  different 
sections  of  the  nation.  He  may  indeed  be  re- 
garded as  the  great  bulwark  against  the  encroach- 
ment of  political  interests  on  the  domain  of  national 
education. 

In  the  State  of  New  York  the  superintendent 
seems  to  combine  the  powers  of  a  European 
Minister  of  Education  and  an  ideal  English  Con- 
sultative Committee.  His  functions  have  been 
summed  up  as  follows  : — 

"  He  apportions  the  school  funds  ;  he  determines 
the  conditions  of  admission,  the  courses  of  work 
and  the  employment  of  teachers,  and  audits  all  the 
accounts  of  the  twelve  normal  schools  of  the  State  ; 
he  has  unlimited  authority  over  the  examination 
and  certification  of  teachers  ;  he  regulates  the 
official  action  of  the  school  commissioners  in  all 
of  the  assembly  districts  of  the  State  ;  he  appoints 
the  teachers'  institutes,  arranges  the  work,  names 
the  instructors,  and  pays  the  bills.  He  determines 
the  boundaries  of  school  districts.  He  provides 
schools  for  the  defective  classes,  and  for  the  seven 
Indian  reservations  yet  remaining  in  the  State. 
He  may  condemn  schoolhouses,  and  require  new 
ones  to  be  built.  He  may  direct  new  furnishings 
to  be  provided.  He  is  a  member  of  the  State 
board  of  regents,  and  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 

247 


America  and  Educational  Experts. 

Cornell  University.  He  may  entertain  appeals  by 
any  person  conceiving  himself  aggrieved  from  any 
order  or  proceeding  of  local  school  officials,  deter- 
mine the  practice  therein,  and  make  final  disposi- 
tion of  the  matter  in  dispute,  and  his  decision 
cannot  be  *  called  in  question  in  any  court  or  in 
any  other  place.'  " 

The  organization  of  educational  government  has 
been  dealt  with  at  greater  length  in  the  case  of  the 
United  States  of  America  than  in  that  of  either 
Germany  or  France.  It  appears  to  many  careful 
observers  that  in  England  we  are  at  present 
tending  towards  a  democratic  form  of  educational 
supervision  and  control.  In  no  country  perhaps 
is  the  popular  mistrust  of  the  educational  expert 
so  deep.  This  is  not  the  place  to  consider  the 
religious  and  social  causes  which  have  led  to  that 
mistrust.  But  at  a  time  when  we  have  been  forced, 
by  the  successful  rivalry  of  those  nations  who  have 
laid  strongly  and  firmly  the  educational  founda- 
tions of  trade  and  industry,  to  reconsider  our 
educational  methods,  it  would  seem  more  than 
ever  important  that  we  should  ask  ourselves  how 
far  such  prejudices  can  be  allowed  to  militate 
against  the  improvement  of  the  quality,  as  well  as 
the  increase  of  the  quantity,  of  our  education.  In 
this  respect  we  have  more  to  learn  from  America 
than  from  any  other  country.  For  there  we  may 
trace  the  gradual  abandonment  of  those  prejudices 
from  which  we  are  at  present  suffering.  And  yet 
248 


America  and  Educational  Experts. 

this  abandonment  has  not  been  accompanied  by 
any  impairing  of  what  is  strongest  and  best  in  that 
democratic  spirit  which  is  exercising  so  great  an 
influence  on  the  destinies  of  England. 

America  has  looked  to  education  to  make 
democracy  a  success,  and  the  future  will  certainly 
show  that  she  has  not  looked  in  vain.  But  in 
the  interests  of  democracy  itself  she  has  been 
forced  to  act  with  that  inconsistency  which  alone 
seems  to  ensure  success  to  human  endeavour. 
The  knowledge  of  the  few  has  been  allowed  in 
matters  educational  to  guide  the  will  of  the  many, 
and  those  few  have  not  failed  their  country  in 
her  need.  In  this  respect  America  has  furnished 
one  more  instance  to  establish  the  fact  that  has 
not  yet  been  contradicted  by  modern  history : 
that  where  a  nation  places  implicit  confidence  in 
her  educational  experts — that  is  to  say,  men  and 
women  who  have,  from  love  of  education  itself, 
devoted  their  lives  to  the  scientific  study  and 
practice  of  education — they  will  invariably  prove 
worthy  of  that  confidence.  Above  all,  it  is  im- 
portant for  us  to  notice,  at  the  present  critical 
moment  in  our  history,  that  it  is  to  the  educa- 
tional expert  that  America  has  had  to  appeal  for 
assistance  to  overcome  all  the  evils  which  had 
grown  up  in  her  organizations  for  public  educa- 
tional control — systems  which  she  had  built  up  in 
obedience  to  the  letter  of  democracy.  It  remains 
249 


Diversity  in  Elementary  Education. 

to  be  seen  what  systems  of  education  she  has 
established  with  the  aid  of  her  experts  ;  and  more 
particularly  what  are  the  educational  foundations 
of  trade  and  industry  which  she  has  laid. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  there  is  great 
diversity  in  the  American  system  of  education. 
This  diversity  extends  even  to  the  elementary 
sphere.  It  is  most  striking  to  the  European 
observer  in  the  case  of  compulsory  attendance 
at  the  elementary  school.  There  are  no  less 
than  sixteen  States  and  one  Territory  which  do 
not  make  education  compulsory,  although  they  all 
have  a  fully  organized  system  of  free  schools. 
Even  where  compulsion  has  been  adopted,  the 
period  of  attendance  varies.  In  the  majority  of 
cases  it  is  required  between  the  ages  of  eight  to 
fourteen.  In  Maine  and  Washington,  however,  it 
is  extended  to  fifteen  ;  and  to  sixteen  in  New 
York  and  five  other  States.  In  seven  States  the 
lower  limit  of  age  is  placed  at  seven,  and  in  one 
of  these  the  child  is  required  to  continue  his 
attendance  at  school  up  to  the  age  of  sixteen. 
This  does  not  represent  the  only  variety,  for  there 
are  all  sorts  of  special  conditions  with  regard  to 
children  employed  in  labour  on  the  one  hand, 
and  those  growing  up  in  idleness  or  illiterate  on 
the  other.  In  the  year  1898-1899  there  were 
15,138,715  pupils  enrolled  in  the  "  common  schools  " 
of  the  United  States.     The  average  daily  attend- 

250 


Education  Open  to  All. 

ance  was   10,389,407  ;  that  is  to  say,  68-6  of  the 
pupils  on  the  school  registers. 

The  National  Bureau  of  Education  publishes, 
among  the  other  very  interesting  statistics  which 
it  has  collected,  the  average  number  of  years  of 
schooling  (of  200  days  each)  that  each  individual 
of  the  population  receives,  or  has  received  at  differ- 
ent dates,  taking  into  account  ?^\  public  and  private 
schooling  of  whatever  grade.  In  1870,  the  number 
of  such  years  was  3*36,  in  1890  it  was  4'46,  in  1897 
it  was  493,  and  in  1899  it  rose  to  496.  But  the 
same  calculation,  taking  into  account  only  the 
schooling  furnished  by  public  elementary  and 
secondary  schools,  that  is,  the  "common  schools," 
gives  respectively  for  the  above-mentioned  years 
the  figures  291,  3-85.  4-39,  and  4-43.  The  fact  that 
the  American  Bureau  combines  the  attendance  at 
elementary  and  secondary  schools,  under  the  term 
"  common  schools,"  in  the  above  statistics,  is  signi- 
ficant, as  showing  that,  in  the  eyes  of  the  American 
people,  secondary  education  is  part  of  the  normal 
course  through  which  every  child  should  pass.  In 
fact,  both  are  considered  as  parts  of  a  public 
system  which  is  crowned  by  the  university  ;  the 
elementary  schools  being  those  which  contain 
"  all  pupils  in  the  first  eight  years  of  the  course 
of  study,"  and  the  secondary  schools  those  which 
contain  "  pupils  in  the  next  four  years  of  the  course 
usually  conducted  in  high  schools  or  academies." 

251 


Comparison  with  French  System. 

From  this  fact  we  are  led  to  conclude  that 
secondary  education  in  the  United  States  is  not 
confined  to  the  select  few,  as  in  Germany.  And 
here  we  are  again  brought  into  touch  with  the 
spirit  of  democracy — of  pure  democracy,  we  might 
say,  in  contrast  to  the  democracy  of  England  and 
France.  Here,  indeed,  we  find  the  fullest  recog- 
nition of  the  equal  rights  of  all  men.  There  is 
no  attempt  in  America,  as  in  France,  to  hinder 
children  from  passing  through  the  secondary 
school  ;  on  the  contrary,  they  are  encouraged  to 
do  so  by  the  provision  of  free  secondary  education. 
It  is  in  the  difference  of  the  characters  of  the 
French  and  the  Americans,  and  of  the  influences 
which  have  moulded  them,  that  we  find  the  true 
explanation  of  their  different  view  of  equality. 
We  have  seen  that  in  France  social  ambitions  of  a 
peculiar  nature  have  made  a  strict  adherence  to 
the  fundamental  principles  of  democracy  possible. 
Without  making  invidious  comparisons  between 
the  characters  of  these  two  peoples,  it  will  suffice 
for  our  present  purpose  to  observe  that  in  America 
there  is  no  ambition  which  may  not  look  forward 
to  its  highest  possible  realization. 

As  it  has  been  often  remarked,  in  a  land 
where  a  man  may  pitch  his  tent  where  he 
pleases  at  night  and  awake  in  the  morning  to 
find  that  he  has  slept  over  a  gold-mine,  there 
are  few  dreams  of  ambition  which  can  surpass 
252 


Comparison  with  French  System. 

the  possibilities  of  reality.  And  it  is,  no  doubt, 
such  natural  equality  of  opportunity  which  has 
given  to  the  American  character  much  of  its 
sturdy  independence  and  self-reliance,  two  quali- 
ties which  characters  always  acquire  when  they 
move  in  a  limitless  field  of  possibilities.  And  it 
must  be  remembered  that,  though  democracy  has 
been  unable  even  in  America  to  do  away  with  class 
distinctions,  the  passage  from  one  class  to  the 
other  has,  generally  speaking,  been  kept  free  and 
open.  This  is  in  a  very  great  measure  due  to  the 
fact  that  there  have  been  no  old  regimes,  as  in 
France,  which  a  fluctuating  minority  of  the  people 
has  always  been  ready  to  recall,  and  which  have 
more  than  once  been  re-established  to  disturb  the 
course  of  democracy.  If  further  proof  were  neces- 
sary of  the  fact  that  it  was  not  purely  educational 
considerations  which  led  to  the  establishment  in 
France  of  technical  education  in  the  secondary 
sphere,  it  is  afforded  by  the  refusal  of  the 
Americans,  who  are  certainly  not  a  jot  behind  the 
French  in  their  appreciation  of  the  benefits  of 
industry  and  commerce,  to  sanction  any  corre- 
sponding growth  in  their  system  of  schools.  They, 
indeed,  have  gone  to  the  other  extreme,  and  have 
added  to  their  old  secondary  schools  free  public 
institutions  of  a  similar  grade.  We  are,  therefore, 
again,  in  the  case  of  America,  compelled  to  take 
the  secondary  schools  into  account  in  a  survey 
253 


Early  Secondary  Schools. 

of  the  educational  foundations  of  trade  and 
industry. 

The  English  colonists,  in  their  natural  desire  to 
imitate  the  mother-country,  planted  Latin  grammar 
schools  on  American  soil.  The  first  of  these  schools 
appears  to  have  been  that  set  up  in  the  town  of 
Boston  in  1635.  The  colony  of  Virginia  had  made 
a  similar  attempt  earlier,  which  came  to  nothing 
owing  to  the  Indian  massacre  of  1622.  And 
here  it  may  be  remarked  that  there  is  no  greater 
mistake  made  by  the  English  people  than  to 
regard  America  as  possessing  only  institutions 
of  mushroom  -  growth  and  without  traditions. 
Not  only  are  the  roots  of  her  secondary  schools 
planted  in  a  very  respectable  distance,  but  she 
has  universities  which  may  almost  claim  to  be 
venerable.  In  1636,  for  instance,  the  general 
court  of  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  voted  a  gilt 
of  four  hundred  pounds  towards  the  foundation  of 
"  a  school  or  college ; "  and  two  years  later  the 
institution  was  opened,  thanks  to  the  bequest  of 
a  nonconforming  clergyman  of  England,  named 
John  Harvard,  whose  name  it  has  borne  ever  since. 
In  1701  there  was  also  founded  another  university 
in  Connecticut,  which  was  renamed  in  17 18  in 
gratitude  for  the  gifts  of  Elihu  Yale,  of  London. 
Columbia  University,  founded  in  1754,  may  also 
be  able  to  boast  of  some  traditions. 

The  number  of  secondary  schools  founded  in  the 
254 


Early  Secondary  Schools. 

seventeenth  century  was  considerable.  In  the  very 
beginning,  we  perceive  a  recognition  of  what  may 
be  termed  the  duty  of  the  State  with  regard  to 
the  education  of  the  people.  The  most  striking 
example  of  this  is  afforded  by  the  Puritan  colony 
of  Massachusetts,  which,  in  1647,  decreed  that  an 
elementary  school  should  be  maintained  in  every 
town  of  fifty  families,  and  that  there  should  be  a 
grammar  school  in  every  town  in  which  the  number 
of  families  amounted  to  one  hundred.  The  secondary 
nature  of  the  grammar  school  was  clearly  marked 
by  the  provision  that  it  was  to  educate  students 
for  admission  to  the  university.  Preparation  for 
the  universities  seems,  indeed,  to  have  been  the 
chief  aim  of  all  these  old  schools.  What  was 
demanded  by  that  preparation  is  suggested  by  the 
standard  of  attainments  required  for  admission  to 
Harvard  College  at  this  time.  These  requirements 
are  summed  up  as  follows  : — 

"When  scholars  had  so  far  profited  at  the 
grammar  school  that  they  could  read  any  classical 
author  into  English,  and  readily  make  and  speak 
true  Latin,  and  write  it  in  verse  as  well  as  prose, 
and  perfectly  decline  the  paradigms  of  nouns  and 
verbs  in  the  Greek  tongue,  they  were  judged  capable 
of  admission  in  Harvard  College." 

Consequently,  the  studies  in  the  grammar  school 
were  almost  entirely  classical.  These  schools  were 
generally  attended  by  the  children  of  the  higher 

255 


The  Academies. 

social  class,  but,  like  the  corresponding  schools  in 
the  mother-country,  they  seem  always  to  have  been 
ready  to  prepare  talented  boys  of  the  poorer 
classes  for  a  university  career.  Apparently,  the 
grammar  schools  sank  before  sectarian  differences, 
and  at  the  dawn  of  the  revolutionary  period  were 
replaced  by  the  academies. 

In  the  case  of  the  academies,  also,  there  was  at 
first  an  absence  of  originality,  or  of  adaptation  to 
the  special  needs  of  America.  They  seem  to  have 
been  modelled  on  the  secondary  schools  established 
in  England  by  the  nonconformists,  who  were  ex- 
cluded from  the  grammar  schools  and  universities 
alike.  In  the  course  of  studies  which  they  provided 
and  in  their  general  organization  they  seem  to  have 
resembled  our  grammar  schools — a  resemblance 
which  can  still  be  traced  to-day. 

In  the  reorganization  which  followed  the  revolu- 
tion, much  attention  was  paid  to  secondary  educa- 
tion. A  strong  desire  now  sprang  up  for  secondary 
schools  under  the  exclusive  control  of  the  State 
Government,  and  not  marked  by  the  sectarian 
character  of  the  majority  of  the  academies.  In 
short,  public,  in  opposition  to  private,  schools  were 
now  demanded.  Boston  took  the  lead  in  founding 
a  school  of  the  new  type.  Taking  as  its  model 
the  High  School  of  Edinburgh,  the  Massachusetts 
town  established,  in  1821,  an  "English  Classical 
School,"  to  which  shortly  after  it  gave  the  name  of 
256 


High  Schools. 

*'  English  High  School."  The  course  of  study  in 
this  school  was  at  first  three  years  in  length.  The 
subjects  of  the  curriculum  were :  English  language 
and  literature,  mathematics,  navigation  and  sur- 
veying, geography,  natural  philosophy  (including 
astronomy),  history,  logic,  moral  and  political 
philosophy.  It  was  not  until  later,  when  the 
course  was  extended  to  four  years,  that  Latin  and 
modern  languages  were  taught  in  this  school. 

Within  the  next  thirty  years  a  number  of  high 
schools  sprang  up  in  different  parts  of  the  country, 
and  now  they  are  found,  with  very  few  exceptions, 
wherever  they  are  needed.  It  should  be  observed 
that  the  Boston  High  School  received  pupils  from 
the  elementary  schools,  and  did  not  at  the  outset 
prepare  them  for  admission  to  the  university.  But 
now  such  a  gap  between  the  secondary  and  higher 
institutions  is  no  longer  allowed  to  exist,  and  the 
high  schools  include  in  their  curricula  those 
studies  which  may  be  considered  as  preparatory 
to  university  education.  Greek  alone  seems  to  be 
regarded  with  some  disfavour  by  those  on  whom 
the  high  schools  depend  for  their  support. 

Some  of  the  academies  have  not  been  able  to 
survive  the  competition  of  the  younger  secondary 
schools.  Others  are  now  stronger  than  ever,  and 
new  schools  of  this  type  have  been  founded. 
They  occupy  very  much  the  same  position  in  the 
American  system  as  would  be  filled  by  our  great 
257 


High  Schools. 

public  schools  in  an  English  system  from  which 
they  were  nominally  excluded.  The  academies  are 
generally  boarding-schools,  and  thus  possess  advan- 
tages not  enjoyed  by  the  high  schools,  which 
receive  day  pupils  only.  A  number  of  the  old 
academies  offered  co-education,  and  a  great  ma- 
jority of  the  high  schools  also  teach  boys  and 
girls  together.  In  the  report  for  1896-97  of  the 
National  Bureau  of  Education,  it  is  stated  that 
there  were  in  the  whole  country  5109  public 
high  schools,  with  few  exceptions  supported 
entirely  by  public  taxation  and  the  proceeds  of 
the  school  funds,  or,  in  other  words,  providing  free 
education.  The  number  of  boys  in  these  schools 
was  173,445,  and  that  of  girls  235,988.  Thirty- 
five  of  the  high  schools  admitted  boys  alone, 
twenty-six  girls  only,  and  the  remainder  were 
co-educational.  At  the  same  time,  it  was  calcu- 
lated that  there  were  2100  private  high  schools, 
academies,  etc.,  of  which  12 12  were  co-educational  ; 
351  being  for  boys  only,  and  537  for  girls.  From 
the  same  source  the  information  is  derived  that 
during  the  year  1898-99  there  were  488,549 
pupils  in  the  public  secondary  schools,  and  166,678 
in  private  secondary  schools. 

As  might  be  expected,  there  is  much  diversity 

in  the  curricula  of  the  American  secondary  schools. 

The   centralizing    tendencies,   referred    to   on   an 

earlier  page,  have,  however,  done  much  to  produce 

258 


Curricula  of  Secondary  Schools. 

that  minimum  of  uniformity  which  would  seem  to 
be  essential  to  the  secondary  schools  of  any 
country.  And  there  is  no  doubt  that  much  has 
been  done  in  the  same  direction  by  the  excellent 
supply  of  educational  literature,  produced  by 
America  for  the  benefit  of  the  English-speaking 
world,  and  above  all  by  the  teachers'  meetings 
and  congresses,  in  the  organization  of  which  the 
United  States  are  unsurpassed. 

From  the  three  following  specimens  of  curricula 
which  were  selected  for  the  enlightenment  of 
educational  students  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  of 
1900,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  American  schools 
have  arrived  at  a  well-balanced  course  of  studies. 
It  is  interesting  to  compare  these  three  typical 
curricula  with  those  of  the  Prussian  secondary 
schools  (see  p.  80,  et  sgq.).  It  is  significant  that  in 
America,  where  so  much  is  left  to  the  freedom 
of  popular  choice,  classical  studies  seem  to  be 
gaining  in  public  favour.  But  although  America 
has  emerged  from  what  may  be  called  the 
"  scientific  age,"  during  which  she  surpassed  all 
other  countries  in  her  eagerness  to  teach  the 
greatest  number  of  sciences  in  the  least  number 
of  years,  even  her  classical  schools  do  not  ignore 
the  part  which  is  played  by  science  in  the  eviron- 
ment  of  the  modern  man  and  woman. 


18  259 


Curricula  of  Secondary  Schools. 


I, — Phillips'  Academy,  Andover,  Massachusetts  (an 
Incorporated  and  Endowed  Boarding  Establishment). 


Classical  Section. 

Scientific  Course. 

Class 
IV. 

Class 
III. 

Class 
II. 

Class  I. 

Class 
D. 

Class 
C. 

Class 
B. 

Class  A. 

English . . . 

4 

2 

2 

-n    O 

4 

2 

2 

egoingsub- 
metry,  Me- 
.  Economy, 

Latin  .... 
Greek .... 

6 

5 
4 

5 

agoing 
s,  Trig 
oology. 

6 

4 

(2) 

French  . . . 

— 

(4) 

(I) 

the  for 
Physic 
and  Z 

— 

(4) 

(2) 

the  foi 
rigono 
olitica 

German  . . 

— 

(4) 

(0 

o  o  c 

— 

(4) 

(2) 

S^^. 
g"^^ 

Algebra  . . 

2 

2 

2 

^|2 

2 

3 

3 

X)    n    O. 

Geometry. 

2 

— 

— 

selecte 

addit 

ical  D 

2 

3 

3 

selecte 
additi 
ng,  Zo 

History  . . 





3 

^-C    rt 

— 

— 

4 

«  ii  S: 

Natural 

Science. 
Chemistry 

2 

— 

ghteen  hou 
sets,  wilh  t 
letry,  Mech 

2 

•^ 

(4) 

ghteen  houi 
;cts,  with  th 
lanical  Dra 
nd  Physics. 

Botany  . . . 

~ 

~ 

~ 

w-  = 

~ 

(2) 

W-"  «* 

Note, — The  figures  in  the  columns  indicate  the  number  of 
"  recitation  periods "  a  week  devoted  to  the  several  subjects. 
Figures  in  parenthesis  indicate  that  the  subjects  for  which  they 
stand  are  alternative  with  others  in  the  same  column. 


260 


Curricula  of  Secondary  Schools. 

II. — Courses    recommended    for    the    High    Schools    of 
Minnesota  by  the  State  High  School  Board. 


English 

Latin 

Mathematics    .  , 

History 

Natural  Science 


(a)  Latin  Scientific  Course. 


ist  Year.        2nd  Year.      3rd  Year.       4th  Year, 


Note. — In  Latin:  First  year,  Grammar;  second  year,  Csesar ; 
third  year,  Cicero  ;  fourth  year,  Virgil.  In  Mathematics  :  First 
year,  Algebra  ;  second  year,  Plane  Geometry  ;  fourth  year,  Solid 
Geometry  and  Higher  Algebra.  In  Natural  Science:  First  year, 
Zoology  or  Botany  ;  third  year,  Physics  ;  fourth  year,  Chemistry. 

(d)  Literary  Course  :  As  above,  substituting  four  years  of  German 
for  Latin. 

{c)  Classical Coicrse :  As  above,  substituting  Greek  Grammar  and 
Anabasis  for  equivalents. 

{d)  Efiglish  Course:  As  above,  substituting  for  Latin,  under  pre- 
scribed conditions,  some  of  the  following  subjects :  Botany, 
Physiography,  Book-keeping,  Civics,  History,  Political  Economy. 


III. — Course  for  Public  Latin  School,  Boston, 
Massachusetts. 


Class  VI. 

Class  V. 

Class  IV. 

Class  III. 

Class  11. 

Class  I. 

English 

Latin 

Greek    

French    

German 

Arithmetic    . . . 

Algebra  

Geometry    .... 

History 

Geography   . . . 

Physics    

Gymnastics  . . . 
Military  Drill  . 

3 
5 

4  [5] 

3 
3 

2 

3 
5 

4 

3 
3 

2 

3 

7  [4] 

[4] 

[3] 

4  [3] 

2 
I 

2 

3 
4 

5 
3 

3 
2 

2 

3 

5 
5 
2 

3 

2 

2 

3 

4 
.? 

5 

4 

4 
2 

261 


No  Cul-de-sac, 

Note. — The  brackets  indicate  the  arrangement  for  the  Spring 
Term  only.  Botany,  Physiology,  and  Hygiene  are  studied  during 
the  Spring  Term  in  the  hours  assigned  to  Geography  in  the  table. 
Objective  Geometry  is  studied  in  connection  with  Arithmetic  in 
Classes  VI.  and  V.  Plane  Geometry  is  begun  in  the  hours  assigned 
to  Algebra  in  Class  II. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  tables  that  the 
Americans  insist  on  a  wide  and  general  curriculum 
in  their  secondary  schools.  They  appreciate  to  a 
greater  extent  than  almost  any  other  people  the 
scientific  principles  underlying  education.  Indeed 
there  is  no  country  except  Germany  where  the 
science  of  education  receives  such  attention  from 
men  of  first-rate  abilities  ;  and  probably  during 
recent  years  the  world  owes  more  to  the  original 
research  of  the  Americans  in  this  branch  of  science 
than  to  that  of  any  other  people.  Recognizing 
that  education  must  follow  the  course  of  natural 
development,  and  guide  the  individual  towards 
the  complete  and  harmonious  realization  of  all 
his  capacities,  they  are  loath  to  shorten  the 
period  of  general  education  in  favour  of  a  course 
of  special  studies.  It  has  been  remarked  by  one 
of  themselves  that  they  are  determined  that 
there  shall  be  no  cid-de-sac  in  their  educational 
systems.  But  there  was  probably  no  intention, 
when  using  a  French  word  to  express  what  is 
most  to  be  avoided,  to  draw  attention  to  the  fact 
that  in  no  system  is  the  aU-de-sac  so  common 
as  in  the  French.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  America's 
262 


General  Culture. 

determination  may  be  strengthened  by  the  extra- 
ordinary success  in  practical  life,  of  those  of 
her  sons  and  daughters  who  have  received  the 
general  culture  provided  by  the  secondary  school 
and  the  university,  but  who  have  not  on  that 
account  considered  it  in  any  way  degrading  to 
start  at  the  bottom  rung  of  the  ladder  of  life. 
So  far  the  public  high  schools  have  to  a  great 
extent  been  able  to  resist  the  popular  demand  for 
specialized  education  ;  in  many  cases  they  have 
refused  to  admit  commercial  subjects  to  their 
curricula,  or  to  provide  manual  training  for  any 
other  purpose  than  that  of  general  culture.  Special 
commercial  schools  in  the  secondary  sphere  are 
generally  private  ventures,  and  they  have  to 
depend  on  the  support  of  that  section  of  the  com- 
munity which  has  but  a  partial  insight  into  the 
true  meaning  of  education. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  said  that  the  American 
teachers  are  more  free  from  conventional  restric- 
tions, and  more  daring  in  the  originality  of  their 
experiments,  than  those  of  any  other  country. 
And,  when  it  is  remembered  that  there  is  no 
land  in  which  the  right  to  freedom  of  develop- 
ment is  held  so  sacred,  it  will  be  understood 
that  no  time-tables  or  no  statistics  can  possibly 
represent  the  full  influence  of  the  secondary 
schools  on  American  progress.  The  following 
table  is,  however,  interesting,  as  showing  the 
263 


Statistics. 

steady  increase  in  the  popularity  of  literary 
studies,  and  the  decrease  in  the  popularity  of 
some  branches  of  mathematics  and  science.  This 
table,  which  is  based  on  statistics  furnished  by 
the  National  Bureau  of  Education,  includes  both 
public  and  private  secondary  schools. 


1889-1 

S90. 

1893-1894. 

I897-I898. 

Number 

Per 

Number 

Per 

Number 

Per 

of 

cent,  to 

of 

cent,  to 

of 

cent,  to 

Students. 

total. 

Students. 

total. 

Students. 

toUl. 

Total     number 

of  secondary 

students  .... 

297,894 

— 

407,919 

— 

554,814 

— 

Number  study- 

ing— 
Latin 

100,144 

33"62 

177,898 

43-59 

274,293 

49  "44 

Greek    

12,869 

4-32 

20,353 

4-99 

24,994 

4-50 

French  

28,032 

9-41 

42,072 

10-31 

58,165 

10-45 

German  .... 

34,208 

11-48 

52,152 

12-78 

78,994 

14-24 

Algebra  .... 

127,397 

4277 

215,023 

5271 

306,755 

55-29 

Geometry    . . 

59.789 

20'07 

103,054 

25'25 

147-515 

26-1^9 

Trigonometry 

— 

— 

15,500 

3-80 

'5,719 

2-83 

Physics    .... 

63,644 

21-36 

97,974 

24-02 

113,650 

20-48 

Chemistry  . . 

28,665 

9-62 

42,060 

10-31 

47,448 

8-55 

It  is  of  course  to  be  expected  that,  in  a  country 
where  popular  opinion  has  almost  as  much  influence 
in  educational  matters  as  in  England,  a  tendency 
will  be  shown  to  frame  the  curricula  of  secondary 
schools  in  some  cases  with  an  exaggerated  regard 
for  popular  favour.  We  consequently  find  in  some 
of  the  American  secondary  schools  commercial 
departments  very  similar  to  those  which  have  been 
264 


Commercial  Education. 

started  recently  in  connection  with  a  few  English 
grammar  schools.  These  courses  vary  very  much, 
both  as  to  their  length  and  as  to  what  may  be 
called  their  commercial  intensity. 

The  President  of  Harvard  University  remarked 
in  an  address  at  the  National  Export  Exposition 
of  1899: — 

"  The  so-called  commercial  course  in  an  American 
high  school  is  almost  universally  a  course  hope- 
lessly inferior  to  the  other  courses,  being  made  up 
by  substituting  book-keeping,  stenography,  type- 
writing, and  commercial  arithmetic  for  some  of  the 
language,  history,  mathematics  or  science  of  the 
classical  or  English  scientific  course.  This  course 
exists  in  our  public  schools  because  it  has  for 
committeemen  and  parents  a  practical  sound.  .  .  . 
For  the  purposes  of  mental  training  or  of  mental 
power,  getting  this  course  is  never  to  be  recom- 
mended, and  it  is  rare  that  the  slight  knowledge 
of  these  arts  acquired  by  pupils  in  the  public 
schools  proves  to  be  of  much  use  to  them  in 
winning  a  livelihood." 

In  1898,  a  department  of  commerce  was 
established  in  connection  with  the  Central  High 
School  in  Philadelphia,  Here  the  course  covers 
four  years,  and  is  generally  considered  as  the 
nearest  approximation  which  has  yet  been  achieved 
in  the  United  States  to  the  ideal  type  of  secondary 
commercial  school.  The  curriculum  of  this  de- 
partment given  below,  showing  the  numbers  of 
hours  per  week  allotted  to  each  subject,  is  worthy 
265 


Commercial  Education. 

of  careful  study.  The  pupil  is  fifteen  or  sixteen 
years  of  age  before  he  commences  to  specialize. 
It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  course  of  studies 
represents  a  compromise  between  the  educational 
and  the  "  practical "  idea  ;  and  only  results  can 
show  whether  both  have  not  been  sacrificed.  We 
may  well  be  inclined  to  ask  what  practical  or 
educational  benefit  can  be  derived  from  the  study 
of  Latin  for  the  first  two  years  only ;  or  whether 
the  amount  of  Greek  and  Roman  history  or  of 
modern  European  history,  which  can  be  learnt  in 
one  year,  is  really  worth  the  time  that  is  given  to 
it.  And  again,  can  anything  more  than  a  smatter- 
ing of  physical  geography,  botany  and  zoology 
be  acquired  during  one  year,  when  these  subjects 
share  four  hours  a  week  between  them  ?  Such  a 
course  as  this  appears  to  the  Englishman,  and  still 
more  to  the  German,  to  represent  all  that  is  most 
brilliant  in  the  daring  pedagogical  experiments 
of  the  American  experts,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  offer  a  warning  against  the  democratic  tendency 
to  try  to  "serve  both  God  and  Mammon."  It 
is  precisely  the  pedagogical  knowledge  which  is 
displayed  in  the  organization  of  this  course,  and 
particularly  in  the  selection  of  subjects  for  the  first 
year,  which  makes  it,  to  use  a  somewhat  cant 
expression,  dangerous  for  those  who,  having  only 
skimmed  the  surface  of  educational  science,  are 
always  attracted  by  new  ideas. 
266 


yj 

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^, , 

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1     .           TJ  -:.               1 

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173 

11 

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t^"rt 

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267 


Commercial  Education. 

From  the  statistics  of  the  National  Bureau  of 
Education  it  may  be  gathered  that  the  number  of 
students  in  all  commercial  courses  in  different 
kinds  of  institutions  in  the  year  1897-98  was  as 
follows  : — In  universities  and  colleges  there  were 
5869;  in  normal  schools,  5721  ;  in  private  high 
schools  and  academies,  9740 ;  in  public  high 
schools,  31,633  ;  and  in  commercial  and  business 
colleges,  70,950.  Thus  no  less  than  123,913  indi- 
viduals were  receiving  some  sort  of  commercial 
education  in  the  United  States  during  the  year 
mentioned. 

The  "commercial  colleges,"  the  best  known 
of  the  institutions  which  provide  this  kind  of 
training,  really  offer  nothing  more  than  the 
preparation  necessary  for  a  boy  or  girl,  man  or 
woman,  of  any  age  whatever,  desiring  to  obtain 
employment  as  a  clerk.  These  schools  are  con- 
sequently of  a  very  elementary  order,  and  cannot 
rightly  be  termed  educational  institutions.  They 
are  private  undertakings  submitted  to  no  public 
supervision.  The  tuition  fee  of  the  better  class 
commercial  college  varies  from  iJ"io  to  ^40  for  a 
year  of  ten  months. 

The  business  college  is  seen  in  its  highest  de- 
velopment in  the  Drexel  Institute  of  Art,  Science, 
and  Industry  in  Philadelphia,  which  is  said  to  be 
one  of  the  best  endowed  secondary  schools  in  the 
United  States.  Here  there  is  a  more  specialized 
268 


Commercial  Education. 

course  than  is  to  be  found  in  the  Central  High 
School  in  the  same  town.*  The  department  of  com- 
merce and  finance  in  this  school  consists  of  three 
special  divisions — the  course  in  commerce  and 
finance,  the  office  course,  and  the  evening  course. 
The  first  of  these  courses  provides  what  is  termed 
a  thorough  fundamental  training  for  the  activities 
of  business.  It  includes :  (i)  the  production, 
manufacture,  sale,  and  transportation  of  articles 
of  commerce ;  (2)  the  management  of  stock  com- 
panies and  corporations  ;  (3)  the  buying  and  sell- 
ing of  securities  ;  (4)  the  importing  and  exporting 
of  merchandise ;  (5)  the  borrowing  and  lending  of 
money  on  credit  ;  (6)  the  advertising  of  com- 
mercial concerns  ;  (7)  the  keeping  of  business 
records.  This  course  covers  two  years  of  two 
terms  each,  A  diploma  is  granted  to  those 
students  of  the  Institute  who  have  completed  the 
whole  of  this  course  and  passed  the  necessary 
examinations. 

It  is  to  the  universities  and  colleges  of  America 
that  we  must  look  for  commercial  education  of  the 
highest  kind.  It  is  evident  that  it  is  not  until  the 
grade  of  education  represented  by  these  institu- 
tions is  reached  that  a  student  is  fitted  and 
intellectually  competent  to  acquire  a  knowledge 
of  those  sciences  on  which  commerce  must  depend 
for   its   proper    conduct.      The   secondary   school 

*  See  p.  267. 
269 


Universities  and  Commercial  Education. 

can,  indeed,  provide  training  in  such  practical 
subjects  as  commercial  arithmetic,  shorthand,  and 
typewriting ;  it  can  neglect  the  future  needs  of 
the  pupil  with  regard  to  his  general  environment, 
and  encourage  a  premature  development  of  those 
special  powers  which  will  be  exercised  by  the 
narrower  surroundings  of  his  future  calling  ;  but 
it  is  not  until  a  broad  basis  of  general  knowledge 
has  been  laid,  and  a  wide  development  of  intel- 
lectual power  has  been  attained,  that  a  young  man 
or  woman  is  capable  of  studying  commerce  in  the 
way  that  it  is  studied  in  the  commercial  university 
of  Leipzig,  or  as  industry  is  studied  in  the  great 
German  technical  high  schools.  The  American 
colleges  and  universities  have  comparatively  re- 
cently recognized  this  fact.  They  have  also  been 
led  to  admit,  not  without  a  certain  reluctance,  that 
although  many  of  the  most  successful  men  of 
business  have  passed  through  the  classical  courses 
of  study  which  they  offer,  yet  it  is  possible  for 
them  to  furnish  a  training  which  is  becoming  more 
than  ever  essential. 

In  these  days,  when  the  competition  between 
nations  in  the  markets  of  the  world  has  reached 
a  pitch  of  intensity  unknown  in  former  history, 
the  man  of  business  is  obliged  to  act  with  a 
promptness  and  rapidity  of  decision  which  call 
for  a  knowledge  of  the  many  conditions  affect- 
ing commerce,  and  which  can  only  result  from 
270 


Universities  and  Commercial  Education. 

a  careful  scientific  training  and  a  wide  survey- 
or human  affairs.  This  training  and  this  know- 
ledge may  be  provided  by  the  universities  better 
than  by  any  other  educational  institution ;  for 
not  only  must  such  training  be  preceded  by  the 
education,  and  this  knowledge  be  based  on  the 
instruction  provided  by  the  secondary  school,  but 
it  is  desirable  that  the  man  of  commerce  should 
not  be  cut  off  from  all  the  influences  of  the 
high  traditions  upheld  by  the  universities.  This 
the  American  universities  have  perceived.  Four 
of  them,  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  in  Phila- 
delphia, the  University  of  Chicago,  the  University 
of  California,  in  Berkeley,  and  the  Columbia  Uni- 
versity, in  the  city  of  New  York,  are  conspicuous 
for  the  steps  they  have  taken  to  furnish  suitable 
courses  of  higher  commercial  education. 

It  was  in  1881  that  Mr.  Joseph  Wharton,  a 
manufacturer  of  Philadelphia,  made  a  large  dona- 
tion to  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  for  the 
foundation  of  a  higher  commercial  department. 
This  is  only  another  instance  of  what  American 
education  owes  to  private  munificence.  The 
twenty  thousand  pounds  which  Mr.  Wharton  gave 
for  this  purpose  were  used  to  establish  the  school 
of  finance  and  economy.  After  ten  years'  ex- 
perience it  was  found  necessary  to  reconstruct 
and  enlarge  this  new  faculty  of  the  university. 
The  course  in  finance  and  economy  now  covers 
271 


Commercial  Course  of  a  University. 

four  years,  thus  corresponding  to  the  other  courses 
in  arts  and  science.  The  conditions  of  admission 
are  the  same  as  to  other  courses  of  the  university. 
The  following  curriculum  shows  better  than  any 
other  form  of  statement  the  kind  of  instruction 
which  is  given  in  the  four  different  years.  It 
should  be  noted  that  special  provision  is  made 
in  this  course  for  those  students  who  intend  to 
enter  the  journalistic  profession. 


COURSE   IN   FINANCE  AND   ECONOMY. 

Freshman  Class. 


Subjects. 


Composition   

Algebra  

Solid  Geometry   

Trigonometry 

General  Chemistry  * 

German  

Accounting  

Physical  and  Economic  Geography 

Practical  Economic  Problems 

Economic  Literature 

Newspaper  Practice  f 


•  For  students  who  present  Solid  Geometry  and  Plane  Geometry 
and  Physics  for  admission  to  College.  Such  students  omit  Solid 
Geometry  and  Trigonometry. 

t  For  students  in  Journalism,  who  omit  Accounting  in  second 
term. 

272 


Commercial  Course  of  a  University. 

Sophomore  Class. 

Subjects. 


Modern  Novelists 

History  of  English  Literature 

Scientific  German 

Business  Law    

Money  and  Banking    

Business  Practice  

American  History   

Roman  History    

Theory  and  Geography  of  Commerce  . 

Elementary  Sociology 

General  Politics  

Congress 

Newspaper  Practice  * 

Current  Topics 


Senior  Class. 


Subjects. 


Public  Administration 

Legal  Institutions 

Municipal  Government   

Political  Economy 

Statistics  

Finance   

Transportation   

History  of  Renaissance  and  Reformation 
Art  and  History  of  Newspaper-making  f 

Newspaper  Practice  f 

Current  Topics  f    


*  For  students  in  Journalism,  who  omit  Business  Practice  and 
History  and  Geography  of  Commerce  in  second  term. 

t  For  students  in  Journalism,  who  omit  Municipal  Government,  or 
Transportation,  or  Statistics. 


Universities  and  Technical  Education. 


Junior  Class. 


Subjects. 


No.  of  Hours  per  Week. 


ist  Term.        2nd  Term. 


Constitution  of  United  States 

Constitutions  of  Germany  and  Switzerland 

Congress 

Modern  Legislative  Problems 

Political  Economy 

Advanced  Sociology    

Sociological  Field  Work 

Business  Practice . . 

Banking 

American  History 

English  Constitutional  History 

Logic 

Ethics 

Art  and  History  of  Newspaper-making  *  . 

Newspaper  Practice  * 

Current  Topics  * 


— 

2 

I 

I 

2 

2 

3 

3 

2 

2 

I 

I 

2 

— ■ 

— 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

— 

2 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

The  Universities  in  America  have  thus  begun 
to  fulfill  their  duty  with  regard  to  the  men  of 
commerce,  and  in  this  they  are  being  followed 
by  the  newer  English  universities.  There  is  a 
further  resemblance  between  the  two  in  the 
attempts  which  they  make  to  provide  that  ad- 
vanced scientific  training  which  we  have  seen 
is  given  by  the  German  technical  high  schools, 
and  to  which  Germany  owes  so  much  of  her 
industrial  prosperity.  It  may  be  that  in  the 
future    Engrland    and    America   will    succeed    in 


*  For  students  in  Journalism,  who  omit  either  Modern  Legislative 
Problems,  or  Business  Practice  and  Banking. 

274 


The  American  University. 

furnishing  better  foundations  of  trade  and  industry 
than  even  the  German  Empire ;  for  certainly 
much  is  to  be  gained  in  recognizing  at  the  outset 
the  common  link  which  unites  all  studies  of 
university  rank,  whether  they  prepare  for  the 
learned  professions  in  particular,  or  for  the  special 
occupations  of  trade  and  industry.  But  at  present 
America  has  so  far  outstripped  England  in  this 
respect  that  we  can  hardly  regard  the  two  countries 
as  competing  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  educa- 
tional activities  of  Germany.  Before  considering 
the  technical  branches  of  the  American  universities 
a  few  words  may  be  said  as  to  the  general 
organization  of  these  institutions. 

There  is,  perhaps,  rather  less  variety  in  the 
organization  of  American  universities  than  in  that 
of  the  secondary  schools.  It  is,  however,  exceed- 
ingly difficult  to  institute  a  comparison  between 
the  English  and  American  universities.  This 
difficulty  is  in  part  due  to  the  American  confusion 
of  nomenclature.  The  term  college,  for  instance, 
is  sometimes  applied  to  institutions  of  the  highest 
possible  grade,  but  more  generally  it  connotes  a 
composite  organization,  partly  a  secondary  school 
and  partly  a  university.  If  one  could  imagine  the 
University  of  Oxford  or  Cambridge  insisting  that 
all  students  on  arriving  at  the  university  should 
spend  four  years,  before  commencing  their  uni- 
versity studies,  in  bringing  their  attainments 
19  275 


The  American  University. 

of  scholarship  up  to  the  level  demanded  by 
the  French  Baccalaurdat,  or,  adopting  Matthew 
Arnold's  comparison  of  standards,*  by  the  certifi- 
cate of  maturity  of  a  Prussian  higher  secondary 
school,  then  there  would  be  something  in  Eng- 
land corresponding  to  the  American  college. 
Generally  speaking  it  may  be  said  that,  while  the 
universities  sometimes  contain  both  a  collegiate 
or  undergraduate  and  a  graduate  department,  the 
university  proper  provides  only  courses  of  post- 
graduate studies.  Again,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
American  university  often  contains  four  depart- 
ments which  resemble  respectively  the  German 
university,  technical  high  school,  agricultural 
college  and  gymnasium.  Harvard  University, 
for  instance,  presents  the  following  organiza- 
tion : — 

I.  Faculty  of  arts  and  sciences. 

(a)  Harvard  College,  leading  to  the  degree  of 
bachelor  of  arts. 

(b)  The  Lawrence  scientific  school  (degree  of 
bachelor  of  science). 

(c)  The  graduate  school  (degrees  of  master  of 
arts,  master  of  science,  doctor  of  philosophy  and 
doctor  of  science). 

*  "The  examination  for  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts,  which 
we  place  at  the  end  of  our  three  years'  university  course,  is  merely 
the  Abituriculett  examen  of  Germany,  the  epretive  du  Baccalauriat 
of  France,  placed  in  both  of  these  countries  at  the  entrance  to 
university  studies  instead  of,  as  with  us,  at  their  close." 
276 


Harvard  and  Yale. 

II.  The  divinity  school  (degree  of  bachelor  of 
divinity). 

III.  The  law  school  (degree  of  bachelor  of  laws). 

IV.  The  medical  school   (degree   of  doctor   of 
medicine). 

V.  The  dental  school  (degree  of  doctor  of  dental 
medicine). 

VI.  The  school   of  veterinary  medicine  (degree 
of  doctor  of  veterinary  medicine). 

VII.  The  Bussey  institution  (degree  of  bachelor 
of  agricultural  science). 

The  graduate  school  of  Harvard  does  not  offer 
advanced  technical  instruction  in  civil  and  me- 
chanical engineering ;  this  is,  however,  to  be  found 
at  Yale,  the  next  oldest  university,  and  in  a  number 
of  the  later  universities.  Without  enterinar  into 
details  as  to  all  the  universities  *  of  America,  we 
may  notice  that  in  each  of  twenty-nine  of  the 
States  there  exists  a  *'  State  university,"  supported 
exclusively,  or  in  great  part,  from  public  funds, 
and  consequently  more  or  less  under  public  con- 
trol. Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the 
grant  of  land  of  the  General  Government  in  1862, 
and  also  to  the  condition  accompanying  these 
grants,  namely,  that  the  leading  object  of  the 
institutions  they  maintain  should   be   instruction 

*  The  University  of  the  State  of  New  York  is,  it  should  be 
noticed,  an  institution  analogous  to  Napoleon's  "  University  of 
France"  (cf.  p.  154). 

277 


Cornell. 

in  those  branches  of  learning  relating  to  agricultural 
and  mechanical  arts,  including  military  tactics,  and 
not  excluding  other  scientific  and  classical  studies. 
Before  considering  the  effect  of  this  condition,  it 
may  be  noted  that  the  other  sources  of  income  for 
the  State  universities  are  taxation,  tuition  fees  (in 
some  only  of  the  universities,  in  many  the  instruc- 
tion is  entirely  gratuitous),  and  private  gifts  and 
endowments.  With  regard  to  the  last  source  of 
revenue,  it  is  not  perhaps  as  large  as  is  generally 
imagined  in  England,  where  we  are  inclined  to  be 
dazzled  by  the  magnificent  examples  which  come 
under  our  notice. 

Almost  all  the  universities  in  the  United  States, 
including  the  State  universities,  offer  courses  in 
pure  or  applied  science.  What  Cornell  University, 
in  the  State  of  New  York,  does  in  this  respect  is 
particularly  interesting.  Ezra  Cornell,  to  whom 
the  foundation  of  this  university  is  due,  desired  to 
found  "an  institution  where  any  person  might 
find  instruction  in  any  study."  Thanks  to  his 
generous  gift,  and  his  careful  management  of  the 
funds  derived  under  the  Land  Grant  Act  referred 
to,  the  college  has  already  realized  upwards  of 
;^820,ooo  as  endowment,  and  still  holds  156,000 
acres  of  the  land  originally  bought  by  Cornell, 
valued  at  ;^i  20,000.  These  funds  may  not  be 
sufficient  for  the  achievement  of  Cornell's  object, 
but  they  will  go  some  way  towards  realizing  it. 
278 


Higher  Technical  Education. 

The  Sibley  College  of  Mechanical  Engineering, 
which  forms  part  of  Cornell  University,  was 
founded  by  Hiram  Sibley,  who  was  interested  in 
some  of  the  great  telegraph,  railway,  and  farming 
enterprises  of  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
His  first  gift  provided  a  building  and  a  chair  of 
"  practical  mechanics  and  machine  construction." 
Altogether  the  gifts  of  Sibley  and  his  family 
amount  to  ;^46,ooo.  The  Sibley  College  now 
consists  of  eight  departments — mechanical  en- 
gineering, experimental  engineering,  electrical 
engineering,  machine  design,  mechanic  arts  or 
shop  work,  industrial  drawing  and  art,  and 
graduate  schools  of  marine  engineering  and  naval 
architecture,  and  of  railway  and  mechanical  engi- 
neering. The  courses  of  study  cover  four  years, 
leading  respectively  to  the  degrees  of  mechanical 
engineer,  electrical  engineer,  etc.  The  number  of 
students  in  1899  was  492.  At  the  same  uni- 
versity there  is  a  college  of  civil  engineering,  in 
which  special  instruction  is  given  in  bridge 
engineering,  railroad  engineering,  sanitary,  muni- 
cipal, hydraulic,  and  geodetic  engineering.  In 
this  splendidly  equipped  college  there  were  186 
students  in  1899. 

But   higher  technical    instruction   is  not  found 

only  in    the  universities.     For  instance,  the  first 

school  of  science  established  in  America  owed  its 

origin  to  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer,  a  Dutchman. 

279 


Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology. 

Van  Rensselaer  conceived  the  idea  of  a  canal  con- 
necting the  Hudson  River  with  the  great  lakes. 
Having  caused  a  geological  survey  to  be  made  in 
connection  with  this  project  by  Professor  Amos 
Eaton,  he  was  struck  with  the  lack  of  men  capable 
of  conducting  such  undertakings,  and  was  con- 
vinced of  the  necessity  for  scientific  and  technical 
education.  Professor  Eaton  seems  to  have  been 
a  typical  American  genius,  and  it  was  with  his  aid 
that  Van  Rensselaer  founded  in  1824  the  famous 
Polytechnic  Institute  which  still  bears  his  name. 

An  Irishman,  Dr.  Patrick  K.  Rogers,  was  chiefly 
responsible  for  the  foundation,  in  1861,  of  the  great 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  now  one  of 
the  most  famous  technical  institutes  in  the  world. 
Speaking  of  this  school,  Mr.  J.  H.  Reynolds 
remarks — 

"  Certainly  its  wealth  of  engineering  equipment, 
the  thoroughness  of  its  courses  of  instruction,  the 
practical  character  of  its  methods,  the  high 
standard  which  it  achieves,  well  warrant  the  praise 
accorded  to  it,  and  well  sustain  its  claim  to  recog- 
nition as  one  of  the  largest  and  best  appointed 
scientific  and  technical  schools  in  the  United 
States,  both  in  respect  of  staff  and  equipment. 
It  was  opened  in  1865  with  twenty-seven  students, 
which  number  had  grown  in  1895  to  1 183,  taught 
by  a  staff  of  137  teachers.  Its  students  are 
drawn  from  every  State  of  the  union,  and  from 
nineteen  foreign  countries,  and  included  amongst 
its    students  are  seventy   or  eighty  graduates   of 

280 


Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology. 

other   colleges   and    scientific    schools   who  come 
to  take  technical  courses." 

The  most  important  section  of  this  institute  is 
a  school  of  industrial  science,  "devoted  to  the  in- 
vestigation and  teaching  of  science  as  applied  to 
the  various  engineering  professions,  namely,  civil, 
mechanical,  mining,  electrical,  chemical,  and  sani- 
tary engineering,  and  naval  architecture,  as  well 
as  to  architecture,  chemistry,  metallurgy,  biology, 
physics,  and  geology."  The  institute  offers  thirteen 
distinct  courses,  each  of  four  years'  duration. 
Affiliated  to  it  is  the  Lowell  school  of  practical 
design,  providing  a  course  of  three  years  of  in- 
struction in  the  art  of  design,  including  technical 
manipulations,  original  designs,  etc. 

There  are  a  number  of  similar  institutions  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  which  cannot  even  be  named 
here.  It  will  be  found,  however,  that,  in  most 
cases,  they  provide  a  course  of  four  years,  the 
first  two  of  which  are  devoted  to  general  pre- 
paratory studies  for  the  special  professional  work 
of  tRe  last  two.  This  preparatory  course  usually 
includes  modern  languages  and  those  subjects 
which  are  necessary  in  common  to  every  branch 
of  special  industrial  studies.  Nearly  all  these 
schools  offer  a  degree  at  the  end  of  the  course  ; 
but  while  some  grant  only  the  degree  of  bachelor 
of  science,  others  bestow  a  more  distinctly  pro- 
fessional title  on  their  successful  students,  such  as 
281 


Higher  Technical  Education. 

civil  engineer,  etc.  Some  offer  still  higher  degrees, 
demanding  longer  courses  of  studies,  a  thesis,  and 
three  years'  successful  professional  practice. 

There  is  no  common  requirement  for  admission 
to  these  schools  such  as  we  have  seen  is  demanded 
in  Germany.  From  an  attempt,  made  by  the 
President  of  the  Worcester  Technological  Insti- 
tute, to  determine  the  typical  average  requirement 
for  admission  to  schools  of  science  or  engineering 
colleges,  we  learn  that  they  would  include,  in 
addition  to  the  "common  English  branches," 
algebra,  plane  geometry,  English  literature,  history 
of  the  United  States,  and  either  the  French  or 
German  language.  About  two  or  three  years' 
study  of  the  latter  would  be  required,  and  to  this 
list  will  often  be  added  solid  geometry,  plane 
trigonometry,  the  elements  of  physics  or  chemistry, 
and  sometimes  a  year  or  two  of  Latin. 

There  is  also  a  large  supply  of  what  is  com- 
monly understood  in  England  by  the  term  "tech- 
nical education,"  that  is  to  say,  special  preparation, 
based  on  elementary  education,  for  different  trades 
and  industries.  Trade  schools,  schools  of  design, 
and  textile  schools,  of  every  possible  variety,  and 
owing  their  origin  to  voluntary  effort,  are  to  be 
found  distributed  over  the  land.  In  all  these 
schools,  however,  the  educational,  as  distinguished 
from  the  professional,  aim  is  never  lost  sight  of. 
It  says  much  for  the  educational  sense  of  the 
282 


Lower  Technical  Education. 

country  that,  almost  invariably,  the  technical 
schools  have  to  satisfy  public  opinion  that  the 
course  of  studies  which  they  provide  is  calculated 
to  promote  mental,  moral,  and  intellectual  de- 
velopment, as  well  as  mere  wage-earning  capacity. 
Not  the  least  remarkable  among  such  institutions 
are  the  Manual  Training  Schools.  The  type 
v/hich  they  represent  cannot  be  said  to  exist  in 
England. 

The  Manual  Training  Schools  are  not  technical 
schools,  in  the  sense  that  they  aim  at  teaching  or 
even  preparing  for  special  trades  or  professions. 
"  It  is  really,"  says  Mr.  J.  H.  Reynolds,  "  the 
principle  and  practice  of  the  Kindergarten,  con- 
cerning the  value  and  necessity  of  which  there  is 
no  longer  any  question  amongst  American  educa- 
tionists, carried  forward  through  the  later  years 
of  school  life.  It  is  '  learning  by  doing,'  and  is 
fast  becoming  a  recognized  principle  in  school 
methods  throughout  the  States."  It  appears, 
indeed,  that  this  form  of  education  is  not  based 
on  any  utilitarian  ideas.  We  find  little  trace 
of  that  desire  which  we  find  nearer  home  to 
employ  educational  principles  in  excuse  of  systems 
which  have  been  built  up  for  purely  utilitarian 
purposes.  The  Manual  Training  Schools  of 
America  are  an  attempt  to  prove  that  "  learn- 
ing by  doing"  is  the  best  means  of  promoting 
natural  development.  Their  influence  has  been 
283 


Manual  Training  Schools. 

great,  and,  thanks  to  their  example,  there  are  now 
few  secondary  schools  which  do  not  devote  some 
time  to  manual  training  and  also  to  industrial 
drawing.  The  latter  study  has  been  defined  by 
an  American  as  "  an  orderly  progressive  course  of 
drawing,  based  on  geometry."  As  showing  the 
increase  of  manual  training  in  the  schools  of 
America,  the  following  figures,  taken  from  the 
statistics  of  the  National  Bureau  of  Education,  are 
instructive: — In  1890  reports  were  given  of  37 
cities;  in  1894,  of  93  cities  ;  in  1896,  of  121  cities; 
and  in  1898,  of  146  cities  in  the  schools  of  which 
manual  training  was  taught. 

Some  of  these  Manual  Training  Schools  form 
departments  of  institutes  embracing  wider  general 
aims.  In  the  Pratt  Institute,  Brooklyn — another 
of  the  American  institutions  which  owes  its  origin 
to  individual  munificence  and  enterprise  —  the 
Manual  Training  High  School  forms  but  one  of 
the  four  sections  of  educational  provision.  The 
work  of  this  institute  has  been  classified  as 
follows : — 

1st.  Education,  pure  and  simple,  in  the  Manual 
Training  High  School. 

2nd.  Normal  training  in  preparing  a  student  to 
become  a  teacher  {a)  in  the  department  of  Fine 
Arts,  {b)  the  department  of  Domestic  Art  and 
Science,  {c)  in  the  department  of  Science  and  Tech- 
nology, (d)  in  the  department  of  Kindergarten. 
284 


Manual  Training  Schools. 

3rd.  Technical  or  special  training  to  secure 
practical  skill  and  knowledge  in  the  Industrial 
and  Domestic  Arts. 

4th.  Opportunities  of  acquiring  a  knowledge 
of,  and  direction  in,  special  subjects  relating 
to  domestic,  social,  financial,  and  philanthropic 
interests. 

A  full  description  of  this  institute  will  be  found 
in  the  report  presented  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Reynolds  to 
the  Technical  Instruction  Committee  of  the  city 
of  Manchester,  embodying  an  account  of  his  visit 
in  April  and  May,  1898,  to  technical  colleges, 
institutions,  schools,  libraries,  museums  and  works 
in  the  United  States  and  Canada.  In  this  report 
we  have  a  survey  of  the  great  movement  in  the 
United  States  for  the  promotion  of  industry 
through  education.  It  places  us  under  a  further 
debt  of  gratitude  to  the  city  of  Manchester.  It 
should  be  read  by  all  those  who  are  interested  in 
the  progress  of  the  great  Western  democracy. 


28:; 


CHAPTER   VII. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

In  the  preceding  pages  an  attempt  has  been  made 
to  show  that  our  foremost  rivals  in  the  markets 
of  the  world  have  built  up  national  systems  of 
education,  in  which  full  allowance  has  been  made 
for  the  claims  of  industry  and  commerce.  We 
have  probably  as  many  schools  as  any  country, 
and  no  doubt  our  educational  expenditure  from 
all  sources  is  equal  to  that  of  any  of  the  three 
peoples  with  whom  we  have  dealt ;  but  with  us 
there  is  a  total  absence  of  that  common  purpose 
which  can  alone  create  a  system  out  of  a  number 
of  independent  efforts,  and  in  no  sense  of  the  word 
can  we  be  said  to  possess  a  national  system  of 
education. 

Germany  is  the  country  which  presents  to  our 
view  the  best  organized  of  educational  systems ;  a 
national  system  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  term, 
since  it  was  created  in  response  to  the  needs  of  a 
nation  which  was  brought  to  its  knees  before  foreign 
rivalry.  This  system  was  designed  in  no  narrow 
286 


Conclusions. 

or  one-sided  spirit,  for  on  it  was  seen  to  depend 
the  upraising  of  the  whole  nation,  and  its  future 
development  in  every  branch  of  human  activity  on 
which  man  may  depend  for  his  existence,  his  com- 
fort, and  his  happiness.  Prussia,  with  that  central 
guidance  and  supervision  which  can  alone  ensure  a 
common  aim  throughout  the  whole  system,  has 
been  able  to  insist  on  the  due  recognition  in  every 
kind  of  school  of  the  scientific  principles  underlying 
education  ;  and  she  has  been  in  a  position,  thanks 
to  her  achievements  in  the  interests  of  the  whole 
Empire,  to  offer  an  example  to  the  other  German 
States,  who  have  imitated  what  was  best  in  her 
school  organization.  Taking  a  wide  and  general 
view  of  the  schools  of  Germany,  the  impression 
forces  itself  upon  the  mind  that  there  is  less  special 
education  than  in  any  other  country ;  that  the 
object  of  Germany  has  rather  been,  so  to  develop 
each  man  that  he  may  be  ready  to  perform,  to  the 
utmost  of  his  ability,  those  duties  which  his  country 
demands  of  him.  And  thus  he  is  not,  in  the  first 
place,  a  chemist,  a  manufacturer  or  a  tradesman  ; 
but  a  German  and  a  man,  who  in  both  capacities 
has  reached  the  highest  point  of  development  of 
which  he  is  capable.  His  general  education  may 
have  ceased  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  when  he  left 
the  primary  school,  or  it  may  have  been  continued 
until  the  age  of  sixteen  or  nineteen  in  the  secondary 
school.  In  the  former  case,  as  far  as  it  is  possible 
287 


Conclusions. 

for  any  political  organization  to  adapt  itself  to 
natural  conditions,  the  cessation  of  his  general 
education  coincided  with  the  close  of  the  period 
of  his  natural  infancy,  and  of  that  development 
which  demands  the  guidance  of  other  men  of 
superior  experience  and  knowledge.  In  the  latter 
case,  with  again  the  same  reservation,  he  showed 
himself  fit  to  continue  his  general  education  to  a 
later  age — fit,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  sense  that  his 
natural  development  had  not  ceased  at  the  earlier 
age  of  less  gifted  men.  All  the  leaders  in  different 
branches  of  German  national  life,  therefore,  pass 
through  the  secondary  school,  which  provides,  in 
the  strictest  sense  of  the  term,  general  education. 
It  was  owing  to  this  fact  that  Bismarck  was  able 
to  say  in  1895 — 

"  If  I  had  not  found  in  our  nation  the  pre- 
paratory work  of  the  secondary  teaching  profession, 
I  do  not  believe  that  my  work,  or  the  work  in 
which  I  have  collaborated,  would  have  met  with 
such  success." 

In  France  we  also  see  a  national  system  of 
education  at  work.  Here,  however,  the  national 
purpose  has  not  been  so  clearly  perceived  as  in 
Germany.  In  spite  of  the  teachings  of  the  Revo- 
lution, or  perhaps  because  of  its  teaching,  France 
has  found  it  necessary  to  impose  restrictions  on 
the  natural  development  of  man  as  man.  She  has 
been  obliged  to  spread  a  net  of  technical  education 
288 


Conclusions. 

over  her  primary  schools  to  prevent  the  soaring 
social  ambitions  from  wandering  aimlessly  in 
"  secondary  "  regions.  Fortunately,  she  has  allowed 
free  expression  to  the  opinion  of  her  experts,  and 
they  have  been  able  to  check  in  some  measure  the 
tendency  to  incorporate  education  in  the  great 
institution  which  is  being  built  up  around  the 
worship  of  the  goddess  of  Work,  the  modern 
substitute  for  the  revolutionary  goddess  of  Reason. 

America  has  also  a  national  system  of  schools, 
existing  side  by  side  with  a  multitude  of  more  or 
less  independent  efforts.  Here  the  pure  spirit  of 
democracy  has  been  so  far  maintained  that  the  rights 
of  man  to  the  fullest  and  freest  natural  develop- 
ment are  still  held  sacred  by  all  but  the  feeble  and 
corrupt.  Around  the  principle  of  general,  as 
opposed  to  specialized,  education  a  bitter  struggle 
is,  however,  being  waged  between  those  who  have 
only  the  interests  of  the  nation  at  heart,  and  those 
who  are  ready  to  use  democratic  freedom  for  the 
promotion  of  their  own  selfish  interests. 

More  and  more  in  the  United  States  the  control 
of  education  seems  to  be  centred  in  the  expert, 
and  it  would  appear  that,  to  save  the  schools  from 
the  selfish,  weak,  and  corrupt,  greater  centralization 
of  control  will  become  necessary.  Already  in  the 
State  of  New  York  we  find  that  private  schools 
outside  the  national  system  are  brought  under  the 
control  of  the  State,  which  is  almost  entirely  vested 
289 


Conclusions. 

in  an  educational  expert.  Whether  this  example 
will  be  followed  by  the  rest  of  America,  it  is  difficult 
to  say  ;  but  there  certainly  seems  to  be  a  tendency 
in  that  direction.  And  if  ever  the  time  should 
come  when  external  opposition  should  deprive 
this  great  country  of  the  luxury  of  free  experiment ; 
if  ever  it  should  become  necessary  for  her  to 
consider  economy  in  the  maintenance  of  her 
schools,  we  shall  certainly  see  a  closer  approxi- 
mation to  the  German  system. 

Meanwhile  the  American  national  system — and 
there  appear  to  be  no  reasons  for  refusing  this  title 
to  that  aggregate  of  schools  of  different  kinds  under 
public  control — in  many  ways  strongly  resembles 
that  of  Germany.  General  education  until  the  end 
of  the  secondary  course  is  the  rule,  and  not  the 
exception.  From  the  secondary  school  the  pupil 
proceeds  to  the  technical  school  or  to  the  uni- 
versity. In  three  particulars,  however,  does  the 
American  national  system  differ  from  the  German. 
First,  in  its  large  provision  of  free  secondary  and 
university  education ;  secondly,  in  its  recognition 
of  the  equal  rights  of  both  sexes  to  the  same 
educational  opportunities  ;  and,  thirdly,  in  the 
close  connection  existing  between  the  universities 
and  technical  schools.  In  Germany  technical 
schools  have  been  built  up  independently  of  the 
universities,  though  it  is  true  that  they  have  caught 
more  and  more  of  the  university  spirit,  and  adopted 
290 
\ 


Conclusions. 

more  and  more  of  the  university  organization.  In 
America,  on  the  other  hand,  almost  all  the  uni- 
versities include,  on  an  equal  footing  with  their 
other  courses,  courses  of  technical  instruction  of 
the  highest  kind. 

So  far,  England,  with  a  fatal  gift  of  imitation 
which  she  seems  recently  to  have  acquired,  has 
followed,  from  no  natural  reasons,  the  French 
rather  than  the  German  or. American  development 
of  national  education.  And,  as  she  obstinately 
refuses  to  allow  that  influence  to  the  expert  which 
France  does  not  hesitate  to  permit  him,  there  is  no 
saying  to  what  extent  she  may  in  the  near  future 
violate  every  sound  educational  principle.  Those 
who  are  most  anxious  as  to  our  future  industrial 
and  commercial  prosperity  fear  that  England  may 
altogether  fail  to  lay  the  proper  educational 
foundations  of  trade  and  industry.  In  France  and 
Germany  the  main  support  of  these  foundations  is 
the  general  education — both  classical  and  modern 
— provided  by  the  secondary  schools.  Both  of 
these  countries  have  placed  their  secondary  schools 
under  public  control.  We  are  about  to  follow 
their  example  in  this  particular.  But  we  should 
at  least  take  warning  from  America,  who,  starting 
long  ago  at  the  point  which  we  have  now  reached, 
has  been  compelled  to  abandon  one  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  democratic  government,  and 
call  the  expert  to  her  aid  in  her  struggle  against 
20  291 


Conclusions. 

the  weakness,  ignorance,  and  corruption  of  those 
bodies  to  whom  she  had  entrusted  the  control  of 
her  schools. 

There  is,  however,  but  little  comfort  in  a  warning 
which  does  not  at  the  same  time  point  to  a  way  of 
escape.  If  we  are  to  avoid  the  dangers  which 
have  thieatened  the  schools  of  America,  it  is 
evident  that,  in  spite  of  all  the  scoffs  and  gibes  at 
the  disagreement  among  experts  of  all  kinds,  we 
must  not  attempt  to  solve  the  problems  which  now 
face  us  without  the  aid  of  those  who  have  devoted 
their  lives  to  the  study  and  practice  of  education. 
The  government  clerk  and  the  county  councillor 
are  essential  to  our  educational  government,  but, 
whatever  may  be  their  functions,  we  have  no  right 
to  demand  of  them  a  knowledge  of  the  sciences 
which  must  determine  the  nature  and  quality  of 
the  education  furnished  by  every  school.  One  of 
our  first  duties,  therefore,  is  to  find  the  experts. 
Unfortunately,  those  who  in  the  past  have  exercised 
whatever  control  of  our  schools  has  been  vested  in 
the  government  have  discouraged  the  study  of 
the  science  of  education  among  our  secondary 
school  teachers.  And  consequently  there  is  now 
a  lamentable  want  of  experts  to  advise  us  as 
to  the  type  of  secondary  school  which  will  meet 
the  needs  that  are  pressing  so  urgently  upon  us. 

When  Prussia,  a  hundred  years  ago,  gathered 
herself  together  for   a  final  struggle  against  the 
292 


Conclusions. 

oppression  of  foreign  tyranny,  one  of  the  first 
things  she  did  was  to  make  provision  for  the 
training  of  the  teachers  in  her  secondary  schools. 
She  thus  procured  for  herself  that  magnificent 
army  of  educational  experts  which  forms  one  of 
the  chief  sources  of  her  national  strength.  Now 
that  we  have  to  fight  against  the  world  to  try 
and  maintain  our  industrial  and  commercial 
supremacy,  we  might  do  worse  than  follow  the 
example  of  Germany,  and  lay  the  first  educational 
foundations  of  trade  and  industry  and  of  all 
national  prosperity  by  training  our  secondary 
teachers.  If  we  refuse  to  do  this  it  will  be  useless 
to  organize  our  secondary  education,  as  Matthew 
Arnold  so  strongly  and  so  wisely  urged  us  to  do 
many  years  ago  ;  and  we  may,  at  no  very  distant 
date,  find  ourselves  compelled  to  begin  to  train 
our  educational  experts  by  the  same  necessity  as 
Germany. 


293 


INDEX. 


E.  =  England. 


P.  =  France.     Gt.  =  Germany.     U.S.A.  =  United 
States  of  America. 


Aachen,  104,  115. 

Aix,  193. 

America.  See  National  Educa- 
tion in  the  United  States. 

American  Commissioner  of  Edu- 
cation, Report  of  the,  129. 

Andersonian  Institution,  Glasgow, 
16,  21. 

Andover,  Mass.,  260. 

Angers,  193. 

Antwerp  Congress,  131. 

Arago,  F.  J.  D.,  160. 

Architecture  (G-.),  106-108. 

Armentieres,  174. 

Arnold,  Matthew,  33,  34,  115,  276. 

Austria,  her  struggle  for  supre- 
macy over  the  German  States, 
57-61. 

Baker,  James,  129. 

Bell,  Dr.,  18. 

Berkeley,  Sir  William,  Governor  of 

Virginia,  227. 
Berlin,    61,    106,    115.       See    also 

Charlottenburg. 
Birkbeck,   Dr.  George,  16-25,  46, 

.71- 
Bismarck,  61. 

Board  of  Education  (E.),  54. 
Board  of  Trade  (E.),  30. 
Boston,  Mass.,  254,  256,   '57,  261. 
British    and    Foreign  School  So- 
ciety, 18,  24, 


British      Technical      Instruction 
Commission,  97,  lor,  109,  189, 

200. 

Brougham,  Henry,  16,  20. 
Bruneti^re,  Ferdinand,  42. 
Brunswick,  104,  115. 
Buffalo  (U.S.A.),  239. 
Buisson,  M. ,  172. 
Burke,  Edmund,  8. 

California,  the  University  of.    See 

Universities. 
Cambridge  (E.).  See  Universities. 
Canning,  G. ,  45. 
Chalons-sur-Marne,      185,      189, 

193- 
Charlottenburg  Imperial  Physical 

Institute  (G.),  103-113. 
Chemistry  and   metallurgy   (G.), 

102,  no. 
Chicago      University     (U.S.A.). 

See  Universities. 
City    Central    Technical   College 

and  Guilds  of  London  Institute, 

104. 
Classics,  the  study  of  the  (E.),  37, 

70;  (P.),  170;  (G.),  73-76,  92, 

9.S  ;     (U.S.A.),    254,   255-257, 

259-261,  266. 
Clausthal  (G.),  104. 
Cluny  (P.),  193,  194. 
Colonial  Schools  (U.S.A  ),   227, 

228,  254. 


295 


Index. 


Columbia    University    (U.S.A.). 

See  Universities. 
Commercial  Education  (E.),  207  ; 

(P.),    173-183,    208-216,    221 ; 

(G.),  131,  145,  146;  (U.S.A.), 

265-269,  270-274. 
Compiegne,    184,    185.     See   also 

Chalons-sur-Marne. 
Conservatoire  Nalimial  des  Arts 

et  Mitiers,  203-207. 
Consort,  the  Prince,  29,  30,  44. 
Continuation    schools  (G.),  118- 

129. 
Cornell,  Ezra,  278. 
Cornell  University  (U.S.A.).    See 

Universities. 
Crefeld  school  (G.),  127,  128. 

Dale,  F.  H.,  119-125. 
Darmstadt,  104,  115. 
de  Caen,  Gervais,  210. 
Democracy  and  Education  (E.), 

11-13;  '(U.S.A.),    12,  13,  IS, 

99.  169,  230-234. 
Descartes,  203. 
Devonshire,  Duke  of,  97. 
Dresden,  104,  115. 
Drexel  Institution  of  Art,  Science, 

and    Industry    (U.S.A.),    268, 

269. 
Dupuy,  Charles,  164. 

Eaton,  Professor  Amos,  280. 

^cole  Centrale  des  Arts  et  Mi- 
tiers  (P.),  193,  196-202. 

^coles  des  Hautes  ittudes  Com- 
inerciales  (P.),  212,  221. 

J&coles  Nationales  d' Arts  et  Aid- 
tiers  (P.),  184-196,  225. 

J&coles  Nationales  Professionnelles 
(P.),  172,  173.  ^77- 

Ecolcs  Supdricures  de  Commerce 
(P.),  208-216,  221. 

Edinburgh  High  School,  256. 

Education  Act  of  1870,  etc.  (E.), 
II,  19,  24,  31,  47,  53. 

Education  Department  (E.),  32. 

Engineering  (G.),  102,  no. 

Engbmd.  See  National  Educa- 
tion in. 

English,  the  Study  of  (G.),  96, 
97- 


Fichte,  J.  T.,  62,  8S. 


Finsbury  Technical  College  (E.), 
102. 

France.  See  also  National  Edu- 
cation in. 

Her  part  in  the  struggle  for 
supremacy  over  the  Ger- 
man States,  57-61. 

Francke,  A.  H.,  71. 

Frankfort  system  (G.),  92-97. 

Frederick  XL,  72. 

Frederick  William  IV.,  King  of 
Prussia,  elected  German  Em- 
peror, 61. 

Freiburg,  104. 

French,  the  study  of  (G.),  96, 
97- 

Germany.  See  National  Educa- 
tion in. 

Goethe,  J.  W.,  61. 

Goldsmith,  Oliver,  4. 

Greek,  the  study  of  (G.),  76, 
95.  96;  (U.S.A.),  255,  257, 
2  6. 

Grclley,  M.,  208. 

Guizot,  F.  P.  G. ,  156-160. 

Gyninasien  (G.),  T^'  7^>  2o>  ^2- 
84,  106,  114. 

Halle,  71. 
Hanover,  104,  115. 
Hardenberg,  62. 
Harvard,  John,  254. 
Harvard  University.    See  Univer- 
sities. 
Havre,  182,  183. 
Hebart,  J.  F.,  69,  86. 
Hecker,  Julius,  71,  72. 
Humboldt,  W.  von,  62,  63. 

Industrial  classes,  their  educa- 
tional needs  (E.),  24-26. 

Industrial  revolution  (E.),  2,  17, 
36. 

International  Exhibition  of  1851, 
29,  30,  44. 

Jesuits  and  education  in  France, 

151- 
Journalism  and  newspaper   prac- 
tice (U.S.A.),  272-274. 

Karlsruhe,  104,  115. 

Lancaster,  Joseph,  18, 


296 


Index. 


Language.  See  Modern  Lan- 
guages. 

La  Rochefoucault-Liancourt,  the 
Duke  of,  1 84. 

Latin,  the  study  of  (P.),  170;  (G.), 
73-76,  92,  95,  96;  (U.S.A.). 
254.  255,  266. 

Leipzig  Commercial  High  School, 
123-125,  144. 

Liebaut,  M.,  205. 

Lipscombe,  W.  G.,  79. 

Louis  XVI IL,  203. 

Louis-Philippe,  King,  154,  156. 

Lowe,  Robert,  13. 

Lowell,  J.  R.,  9. 

Magnus,  Sir  Philip,  21,  97. 

Manual  Training  Schools 

(U.S.A.),  283-285. 

Massachusetts  (U.S.A.),  254-256, 
260,  261. 

Massachusetts  Institute  of  Tech- 
nology (U.S.A.),  280,  281. 

Mechanics  institutions  (E.),  21, 
22. 

Ministry  of  Public  Instruction 
(P.),  172-174. 

Minnesota,  261. 

Modern  languages,  the  study  of 
(E.),  50 ;  (G.),  94-97.  141-144- 

Munich,  104,  115. 

Nantes,  174. 

Napoleon,  6,  9,  10,  59,  64,  65,  154, 
157.  184. 

Napoleon  IIL,  161. 

National  Bureau  of  Education 
(U.S.A.),  242-244,  251,  284. 

National  Education.  The  Growth 
of  National  Systems  of  Edu- 
cation.    See  chapter  i. 

National  Education  in  England. 
See  chapters  ii.  and  iii. 
Industrial     revolution,    2,     17, 

36. 
Education  Act  of  1870.  .11. 
Democracy  and  education,  11- 

13- 

Voluntary  efforts  to  lay  educa- 
tional foundations,  14. 
Dr.  Birkbeck's  movement,  16- 

25- 
Mechanics'  institutions,  21,  22. 
Educational  needs  of  industrial 

classes,  24-26. 


National  Education  in  England 
— continued. 

State  efibrts  towards  educa- 
tional foundations,  29. 

The  Prince  Consort  and  the 
International  Exhibition  of 
1851.  .29,  30,  44. 

Science  and  Art  Department, 
30-33,  46,  47,  50-53. 

Education  Department,  32. 

Matthew  Arnold's  warning,  33, 

34- 

Education  at  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  35-37. 

Oxford  and  Cambridge  Univer- 
sities, 35,  37-40,  54,  275. 

Utilitarianism  and  idealism,  41- 

43- 

Religious  education,  50. 

Study  of  modern  languages,  50. 

Secondary  schools  and  univer- 
sities, 35,  52,  54. 

"  Higher  grade  "  schools,  53. 

Board  of  Education  Act,  54. 

Classical  versus  modern  educa- 
tion, 70. 

British  Technical  Instruction 
Commission  visit  to  Germany, 

97- 

Finsbury  Technical  College, 
102. 

City  Central  Technical  College 
and  Guilds  of  London  Insti- 
tute, 104. 

Commercial  Education,  207. 
National    Education   in    France. 
Foundations  laid  in  France. 
See  chapter  v. 

Napoleon  establishes  educa- 
tional system,   6,  10,  24,  154, 

Matthew  Arnold  on  elementary 

education,  33. 
The   revolutionary   period,    99, 

147.  153-  156. 

Training  of  teachers,  137-140, 
223. 

Influence  of  Rousseau  and  Vol- 
taire, 147-153. 

The  Jesuits  and  public  educa- 
tion, 151. 

Education  under  Louis- Philippe, 
154-160. 

Guizot's  educational  reforms, 
i!;6-i6o. 


297 


Index. 


National  Education  in  France — 
continued. 

Education  under  Napoleon  III., 
i6i. 

Growtli  of  higher  primary  sys- 
tem, 161-168. 

Secondary  education,  161,  164, 
169,  170. 

Cours  complimentaires,  162. 

Higher  primary  schools,  162- 
168. 

Modern  and  classical  "sides," 
170. 

Ministry  of  Public  Instruction, 
172-174. 

Ministry  of  Commerce  and  In- 
dustry,    172-175,    187,    208, 

,  2TI. 

EcoUs    Nationales    Profession- 

nelles,  172,  173,  177. 
Practical  Schools  of  Commerce 

and  Industry,  173-178. 
Practical  School  of  Commerce 

and  Industry  for  Boys,  178- 

181. 
Practical  School  of  Commerce 

and  Industry  for  Girls,  182, 

Ecoles  Nationales  a  Arts  et 
Mitiers,  184-196,  225. 

The  Cluny  school,  193,  194. 

Ecole  Cent  rale  des  Arts  et 
Mdtiers,  193,  196-202. 

Conservatoire  National  des  A  rts 
^et  Mttiers,  203-207. 

Ecoles  Supdrieures  de  Cotnmcrce, 
208-216,  221. 

Congress  on  Technical  Educa- 
tion in  Paris,  208. 

Examinations,  215-220. 

Ecoles  des  H antes  Etudes  Com- 
merciales,  212,  221. 

Scholarships,  220. 

General  tendencies  of  French 
education,  28,  222-225. 

Comparison  with  American  sys- 
tem, 252.  253. 
National  Education  in  Germany, 
15,  24.     See  cliapler  iv. 

Public  education  in  Wiirtem- 
berg,  Saxony,  and  Prussia,  6. 

Establishment  of  national  edu- 
cation in  Prussia,  9,  62,  63. 

Matthew  Arnold  on  elementary 
education,  33. 


National   Education  in  Germany 

—continued. 
Universities,  39,  40. 
Technical  high  schools,  41,  55, 

loi,  103-115,  132. 
Prussia's  pre-eminence,  43,  57. 
Secondary  schools,  48,  49,  80- 

84-  132.  155- 
Trade  and  education,  52. 
Foundations    laid    by   Germaa 

Government,  chapter  iv. 
Pestalozzi's   system,  65-69,  86, 

93.  157- 

Realschulen,  70-76,  82,  89,  132, 
I35.  141.  144.  168,  169. 

Hecker's  school,  71. 

Gyvinasien,  73,  76,  80,  82-84, 
106,  114. 

Realgymnasien,  76,  80,  83,  84, 
106,  114. 

Oberrealschule,  76,  79,  81,  83, 
84,  89,  106,  114,  144. 

The  Emperor  and  the  con- 
ference of  educational  ex- 
perts, 77-79. 

Privileges  of  secondary  educa- 
tion, 82-84. 

The  national  aim,  85. 

The  science  of  education  based 
on  natural  laws,  86-90. 

French  criticism,  90,  91. 

Tlie  Frankfort  system,  92-97. 

The  study  of  languages,  94-97, 
141-144. 

The  Charlottenburg  School, 
103-113,  127. 

"Continuation"  schools,  118  • 
130. 

Creleld  school,  127-129. 

Training  of  teachers,  135-140, 
144. 

Commercial  education,  131,  145, 
146. 

Superiority  of  the  German  sys- 
tems, 286,  287. 
National  Education  in  the  United 
States  of  America.  The  Foun- 
dations laid  in  America.  See 
chapter  vi. 

Democracy  and  education,  12, 
13'  15.  99.  169,  230-234. 

Colonial     schools,     227,     228, 

254- 
Growth  of  a  national  purpose, 
229 


298 


Index. 


National  Education  in  the  United 
States  of  America — continued. 

Organization  of  educational 
control,  235-237. 

Dangers  of  democratic  control 
of  education,  239,  240. 

National  government  and  edu- 
cation, 241-244. 

National  Bureau  of  Education, 
242-244,  251. 

State  Universities,  245,  277. 

New  York  State  superintendent 
of  schools,  246,  247. 

Educational  experts,  248,  249. 

Diversity  in  elementary  educa- 
tion, 250. 

Complete  system  of  education 
open  to  all,  251. 

Comparison  with  French  sys- 
tem, 252,  253. 

Early   secondary  schools,  253- 

25-- 

Harvard,  Yale,  and  Columbia 
Universities,  254,  255,  277. 

Academies,  256. 

High  schools,  257,  258. 

Curricula  of  secondary  schools, 
259-26  r. 

Commercial  education,  265-269. 

Universities  and  commercial 
education,  270-274. 

The  American  University,  274- 
278. 

Cornell  University,  278. 

Universities  and  higher  educa- 
tion, 279. 

Massachusetts  Institute  of 
Technology,  280,  281. 

Technical  education,  282. 

IVIanual  Training  Schools,  283- 
285. 

Conclusions   on   the  American 
systems,  289,  290. 
National  Society  for  the   Educa- 
tion of  the  Poor  in  the  Prin- 
ciples   of     the     Established 
Church  (E.).  18,  24. 
New  York,  244-247,  250. 
Niebuhr,  62. 
Nonconformists  (E.).  36. 


Oberreahchule   (G.)i  76.  79.   81, 

83,  84,  89,  106,  114,  144. 
Oxford.     See  Universities. 


Paris      Exhibition,      Educational 

Exhibit    (P.),    166,    170,    173  ; 

(U.S.A.).  239,  259. 
Paris  Chamber  of  Commerce,  210, 

211,  220,  221. 
Pennsylvania,   the  University   of. 

See  Universities. 
Pestalozzi,  J.  H.,   65-69,  86,  93, 

157- 
Philadelphia,  239,  265,  267,  268, 

271. 
Pinloche  (A,),  90. 
Playfair,  Lord,  30,  44. 
Prussia.    5^^  also  National  Educa- 
tion in  Germany. 

Her  struggle  for  supremacy,  57- 
62. 

Realgymnasien    (G.),  76,  80,  83, 

84,  106,  114. 
Realschulen  (G-.),  70-76,  82,   89, 

132,  135,  141,  144,  168,  169. 
Redgrave,  Gilbert  R.,  97. 
Religious  Education  (E.),  50. 
Reynolds,  J.  H.,  280,  283,  285. 
Rogers,  Dr.  Patrick,  280. 
Rousseau,  J.  J.,  94,  148-153,  156- 

157- 
Royal  College  of  Science  (E.),  30. 

Sadler,  .Michael  E.,  132,  144,  220. 

Saint-Etienne,  179-180. 

Saxon     Code    for     Continuation 

Schools  (G.),  118-125. 
Saxony.     See  National  Education 

in  Germany. 
Scharnhorst,  62. 
Schiller,  F. ,  61. 

School  Boards  (E.),  11,  53,  56. 
Science  and  Art  Department  (E.), 

30-33,  46,  47,  50-53. 
Secondary  Education  (E.),  35,  52, 

54;    (P-),   161,   164,    169,    170; 

(G.),   48,  49.  80-82,    132,   155; 

(U.S.A.),  253-255,  259-261. 
Seniler,  Christopher,  71. 
Sherbrooke,  Viscount.   See  Lowe, 

Robi-rt. 
Ship-building  (G.).  110-112. 
Sibley     College     of     Mechanical 

Engineering  (U.S.A.),  279, 
Smith,  Adam,  4,  14. 
Smith,  Sir  Swire,  97. 
Society  of  Arts  (E.),  44. 


299 


Index. 


Society  for  Diffusion    of   Useful 

Knowledge  (E.),  20. 
Stegeman,  Dr.,  131. 
Stein,  62,  64. 
Stuttgart,  104,  105,  115. 
Switzerland,  33. 

Technical  Education,  Paris  Con- 
gress on,  208. 
Technical    Education   (E.).    102, 

:   (G. 


).  41. 
115-132  ; 


104;  (P.),  173-196 

55,  loi,  103-113 

(U.S.A.).  280-2. 
Telegraphy  (G.),  112. 
Training  of  teachers    {dr.),    135- 


140,  144 ;  (P.),  139.  223. 


See 


United  States   of  America. 
National  Education  in. 
Universities — 

California  (U.S.A.),  271. 

Chicago  (U.S.A.).  271. 

Columbia  (U.S.A.),  254,  271. 

Cornell  (U.S.A.),  278. 

German,  39-40. 

Harvard    (U.S.A.).   254,    255, 
265,  277. 

Oxford   and    Cambridge    (E.), 

35'  37- 4O'  54'  275. 
Pcnnsy  Ivania  (U.  S.  A),  27 1  -274. 


Universities — continued. 
United  Slates,  270-278. 
Yale  (U.S.A.),  254,  277. 

Van  Rensselaer,  Stephen,  279, 280. 

Vaucanson,  203. 

Vierzon,  174. 

Virginia  (U.S.A.),  254, 

Voiron,  174. 

Voltaire,  147-151. 

Voluntary  Schools  (E.),  24,  31. 

Watch  and  Clockmaking  Schools 
at  Cluses  and    Besan9on  (P.), 

195- 
Webster,  Daniel,  12,  13,  229, 
Weimar,  61. 
Wharton,  Joseph,  271. 
Wilkinson,  Spenser,  43,  44,  60,  62. 
William       11.,       the        German 

Emperor,  jy. 
Woodall,  M.P. ,  William,  97. 
Worcester  Technological  Institute 

(U.S.A.),  282. 
Wordsworth,  William,  5. 
Wiirtemberg.        See        National 

Education  in  Germany. 

Yale,  Elihu,  254. 

Yale  University,   See  Universities. 


THE  END. 


300 


A  WORK  OF  GREAT  VALUE. 

The  International  Geography. 

By   Seventy    Authors,    including    Right  Hon.    James 
Bryce,  Sir  W.  M.  Conway,  Prof.  W.  M.  Davis,  Prof. 

Angelo  Heilprin,  Prof.  Fridtjof  Nansen,  Dr.  J.  Scott 

Keltie,  and   F.    C.    Selous.      With  488  Illustrations. 

Edited  by   Hugh    Robert    Mill,    D.  Sc.  8vo.      1088 
pages.     Cloth,  $3.50. 

"  Can  unhesitatingly  be  given  the  first  place  among  publications  of 
its  kind  in  the  English  language.  ...  An  inspection  of  the  list  of  asso- 
ciate authors  leads  readily  to  the  conclusion  that  no  single  volume  in 
recent  scientific  literature  embodies,  in  original  contributions,  the  labor 
of  so  many  eminent  specialists  as  this  one.  .  .  .  The  book  should  find 
a  place  in  every  library,  public  or  private,  that  contains  an  alias  or 
gazetteer." — The  Nation. 

"  The  attempt  to  present  in  one  volume  an  authoritative  modern 
summary  of  the  whole  of  geography  as  fully  as  space  would  permit  has 
been  admirably  successful." — New  York  Sun. 

"  In  brief,  it  may  be  said  to  be  both  a  reference  book  and  a  con- 
nected geographical  history  of  the  modern  world,  something  that  any 
one  can  read  with  profit  in  addition  to  finding  it  of  constant  value  in 
his  library." — Chicago  Evening  Post. 

"  In  his  entirely  studious  moments  the  geographer  cherishes  above 
all  things  facts  and  accuracy.  He  must,  therefore,  value  very  highly 
a  work  like  the  '  International  Geography.'  It  should  be  precious  alike 
to  the  specialist  and  to  the  beginner.  .  .  .  Small  but  adequate  maps  are 
constantly  introduced,  and  there  is,  finally,  a  splendid  index." — New 
York  Tribune. 

"Simply  invaluable  to  students,  teachers,  and  others  in  need  of 
such  a  book  of  reference." — IVashington  Times. 

"  Not  only  as  complete  as  the  limits  would  allow,  but  is  strictly 
up  to  date." — San  Francisco  Argonaut. 

D.     APPLETON     AND      COMPANY,     NEW    YORK. 


McMASTER'S   FIFTH   VOLUME. 

History  of  the  People  of  the  United 

States. 

By  Prof.  John  Bach  McMaster.    Vols.  I,  II,  III, 

IV,  and  V  now  ready.      8vo.     Cloth,  with   Maps, 

I2.50  per  volume. 

The  fifth  volume  covers  the  time  of  the  administrations  of 
John  Quincy  Adams  and  Andrew  Jackson,  and  describes  the 
development  of  the  democratic  spirit,  the  manifestations  of  new 
interest  in  social  problems,  and  the  various  conditions  and  plans 
presented  between  1821  and  1830.  Many  of  the  subjects  in- 
cluded have  necessitated  years  of  first-hand  investigations,  and 
are  now  treated  adequately  for  the  first  time. 

"  John  Bach  McMaster  needs  no  introduction,  but  only  a  g^reeting.  .  .  . 
The  appearance  of  this  fifth  volume  is  an  event  in  American  literature 
second  to  none  in  importance  this  season." — New  York  Times. 

"This  volume  contains  576  pages,  and  every  page  is  vi'orth  reading. 
The  author  has  ransacked  a  thousand  new  sources  of  information,  and  has 
found  a  wealth  of  new  details  throwing  light  upon  all  the  private  and  public 
activities  of  the  American  people  of  three  quarters  of  a  century  ago." — 
Chicago  Tribune. 

"  In  the  fifth  volume  Professor  McMaster  has  kept  up  to  the  high  standard 
he  set  for  himself  in  the  previous  numbers.  It  is  hard  to  realize  thoroughly 
the  amount  of  detailed  work  necessary  to  produce  these  books,  which  con- 
tain the  best  history  of  our  country  that  has  yet  been  published." — Philadel- 
phia Telegraph. 

"The  first  installment  of  the  historj'  came  as  a  pleasant  surprise,  and 
the  later  volumes  have  maintained  a  high  standard  in  regard  to  research 
and  style  of  treatment." — New  York  Critic. 

"A  monumental  work.  .  .  .  Professor  McMaster  gives  on  every  page 
ample  evidence  of  exhaustive  research  for  his  facts." — Rochester  Herald. 

"  The  reader  can  not  fail  to  be  impressed  by  the  wealth  of  material  out 
of  which  the  author  has  weighed  and  condensed  and  arranged  his  matter." 
— Detroit  Free  Press. 

"  Professor  McMaster  is  our  most  popular  historian.  .  .  .  He  never 
wearies,  even  when  dealing  with  subjects  that  would  be  most  wearisome 
under  clumsier  handling.  This  fifth  volume  is  the  most  triumphant  evi- 
dence of  his  art." — New  York  Herald. 

D.     APPLETON     AND      COMPANY,     NEW     YORK. 


A   NEW   VIEW   OF   DEATH, 

The  Individual. 

A  Study  of  Life  and    Death.      By   Prof.  N.   S. 
Shaler,  of  Harvard  University.      i2mo.     Cloth, 

1 1.50. 

Professor  Shaler's  book  is  one  of  deep  and  permanent  interest. 
In  his  preface  he  writes  as  follows  :  "In  the  following  chapters 
I  propose  to  approach  the  question  of  death  from  the  point  of 
view  of  its  natural  history,  noting,  in  the  first  place,  how  the 
higher  organic  individuals  are  related  to  those  of  the  lower  inor- 
ganic realm  of  the  universe.  Then,  taking  up  the  organic  series, 
I  shall  trace  the  progressive  steps  in  the  perfection  of  death  by  a 
determination  as  to  the  length  of  the  individual  life  and  its  division 
into  its  several  stages  from  the  time  when  the  body  of  the  indi- 
vidual is  separated  from  the  general  body  of  the  ancestral  life  to 
that  when  it  returns  to  the  common  store  of  the  earth.  ...  In 
effect  this  book  is  a  plea  for  an  educadon  as  regards  the  place  of 
the  individual  life  in  the  whole  of  Nature  which  shall  be  consistent 
with  what  we  know  of  the  universe.  It  is  a  plea  for  an  under- 
standing of  the  reladons  of  the  person  with  the  realm  which  is,  in 
the  fullest  sense,  his  own  ;  with  his  fellow-beings  of  all  degrees 
which  are  his  kinsmen  ;  with  the  past  and  the  future  of  which 
he  is  an  integral  part.  It  is  a  protest  against  the  idea,  bred  of 
many  natural  misconceptions,  that  a  human  being  is  something 
apart  from  its  fellows  ;  that  it  is  born  into  the  world  and  dies  out 
of  it  into  the  loneliness  of  a  supernatural  realm.  It  is  this  sense 
of  isolation  which,  more  than  all  else,  is  the  curse  of  life  and  the 
sting  of  death." 

"Typical  of  what  we  call  the  new  religious  literature  which  is  to  mark  the 
twentieth  century.  It  is  pre-eminently  serious,  tender,  and  in  the  truest  sense 
Christian. ' ' — Springfield  Republican. 

"  In  these  profoundly  thoughtful  pages  the  organic  history  of  the  individual 
mtn  is  so  presented  as  to  give  him  a  vision  of  himself  undreamed  of  in  a  less 
scientific  age.  .  .  .  Speaking  as  a  naturalist  from  study  of  the  facts  of  Nature, 
Professor  Shaler  says  that  these  can  not  be  explained  '  except  on  the  supposition 
that  a  mighty  kinsman  of  man  is  at  work  behind  it  all.'  " — The  Outlook. 

D.     APPLETON     AND     COMPANY,     NEW    YORK. 


TWENTIETH   CENTURY   TEXT-BOOKS, 


Plant   Relations. 

A  First  Book  of  Botany.  By  John  M.  Coulter, 
A.  M.,  Ph.  D.,  Head  of  Department  of  Botany, 
University  of  Chicago.     i2mo.     Cloth,  $i.io. 

"'Plant  Relations'  is  charming  both  in  matter  and  style.  The  book  is 
superbly  manufactured,  letterpress  and  illustration  yielding  the  fullest  measure 
of  delight  from  every  page." — fV.  McK.  Vance,  Superintendent  of  Schoohy 
Urbana,  Ohio. 

"I  am  extremely  pleased  with  the  text-book,  'Plant  Relations.'" — H. 
TV.  Conn,  Weileyan  Uni-versity,  Middletoivn,  Conn. 

"Dr.  Coulter's  'Plant  Relations,'  a  first  text-book  of  botany,  is  a  wholly 
admirable  work.  Both  in  plan  and  in  structure  it  is  a  modern  and  scientific 
book.      It  is  heartily  recommended." — Educational  Re-vieiv. 

"  It  is  a  really  beautiful  book,  the  illustrations  being  in  many  cases  simply 
exquisite,  and  is  written  in  the  clear,  direct,  and  simple  style  that  the  authoi 
knows  so  well  how  to  use.  A  very  strong  feature  of  the  work  is  the  promi- 
nence given  to  ecological  relations,  which  I  agree  with  Dr.  Coulter  should  be 
made  the  leading  subject  of  study  in  the  botany  of  the  preparatory  schools." — 
V.  M.  Spalding,  Uni'versity  of  Michigan. 

"  We  can  hardly  conceive  of  a  wiser  way  to  introduce  the  pupil  to  the  fas- 
cinating study  of  botany  than  the  one  indicated  in  this  book." — Education. 

"The  book  is  a  marvel  of  clearness  and  simplicity  of  expression,  and  that, 
too,  without  any  sacrifice  of  scientific  accuracy." — School  Re-vieiv. 

"It  marks  the  passage  of  the  pioneer  stage  in  botanical  work,  and  afford? 
the  student  a  glimpse  of  a  field  of  inquiry  higher  than  the  mere  tabulation  and 
classification  of  facts." — C.  H.  Gordon,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Lincoln,  Neb. 

"  It  will  surely  be  a  Godsend  for  those  high-school  teachers  who  are  strug- 
gling with  insufficient  laboratory  equipment,  and  certainly  presents  the  most 
readable  account  of  plants  of  any  single  elementary  book  I  have  seen." — L.  M. 

Under-wood,  Columbia  Uni'versity. 

"  We  heartily  recommend  his  book  as  one  of  the  clearest  and  simplest  pres- 
entations of  plant  relations  that  we  have  seen." — Independent. 

D.  APPLETON   AND   COMPANY,  NEW  YORK. 


UTERATURES  OF  THE  WORLD. 

Edited  by  EDMUND  GOSSE, 

Hon.  M.  A.  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge. 
Each,  I2mo,  cloth,  $1.50. 

Chinese   Literature. 

By  Herbert  A.  Giles,  M.  A.,  LL.  D.  (Aberd.), 
Professor  of  Chinese  in  the  University  of 
Cambridge. 

"  Few  recent  histories  of  literature  are  more  pregnant  with 
new  and  interesting  material  than  this.  There  is  nothing  like  it 
in  any  library,  and  one  may  say  with  assurance  that  there  is  not 
a  dull  page  in  it." — Boston  Trafiscript. 

**  Information  and  instruction  share  its  pages  with  enlivening 
wit  and  wisdom,  and  it  can  be  confidently  relied  upon  for  many 
hours  of  pure  delight."  —  Chicago  Evening  Post. 

"Any  private,  public,  or  school  library  that  fails  to  place  it 
on  its  shelves  would  be  guilty  of  almost  culpable  indifference 
to  the  most  opportune,  the  most  instructive,  the  most  fascinating 
of  Asiatic  masterpieces  that  has  ever  been  garnered  into  a  single 
volume." — Brooklyn  Daily  Eagle. 

'♦The  work  is  done  with  sympathy,  with  insight,  and  with 
that  openness  of  mind  which  is  so  essential  in  dealing  with  the 
life  and  thought  of  the  East.  The  quality  of  the  poetry  will 
surprise  those  who  have  thought  of  the  Chinese  as  dealing  in  pru- 
dential maxims  and  in  philosophy  of  the  moral  life  rather  than  iq 
the  stuff  of  the  imagination." — The  Outlook. 

D.     APPLETON     AND     COMPANY,     NEW    YORK. 


'^THE  BOOK  OF  THE  YEAR/' 

Life  and   Letters  of  Thomas   Henry- 
Huxley. 

By  his  Soiij  Leonard  Huxley.      In  two  volumes. 
Illustrated.     8vo.     Cloth,  I5. oo  net. 

"This  very  complete  reveladon  of  the  character  and  work  of 
a  man  who  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  forces  which  gave 
character  to  the  nineteenth  century  will  be  welcomed  by  a  far 
wider  circle  of  readers  than  that  which  is  interested  in  Huxley's 
strictly  scientific  researches.  .  .  .  These  two  richly  interesting 
volumes  are  sure  to  be  widely  read." — London  Times. 

"  It  *goes  without  saying  '  what  precious  freight  was  carried 
by  Huxley's  letters.  .  .  .  These  two  delightful  volumes." — 
London  Chronicle. 

"  Huxley's  life  was  so  full,  so  active,  so  many-sided,  in  touch 
with  such  a  number  of  interesting  people,  that  this  work  appeals 
to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men.  .  .  .  An  admirably  written 
biography." — London  Standard. 

"His  letters  are  a  self-revelation  of  the  man,  his  work,  his 
ambitions,  his  trials,  his  views  of  religion,  his  philosophy,  his 
public  activity  and  domestic  happiness.  .  .  .  Whoso  reads  these 
volumes  will  feel  that  he  knows  better  a  man  worth  knowing, 
and  the  number  who  will  read  them  will  be  great." — London 
Telegraph. 

"  Huxley's  career  makes  a  wonderful  story." — London 
Mail. 

"  Mr.  Leonard  Huxley  has  given  the  world  many  extremely 
valuable  and  interesting  letters,  all  characteristic,  and  he  has  con- 
nected them  by  a  well-written  consecutive  narrative  which  is 
sufficient  to  weave  them  together." — London  News. 

D.     APPLETON     AND     COMPANY,     NEW    YORK. 


DATE  DUE 

:4^ii  1  0 

1966 

JUN     9 

1965  6 

JLm2£ 

mz 

CAYLORD 

PR.NTED  IN  U    S    A. 

